Love Hina: A Samurai's Love
by The Hendog
Summary: Motoko, after her time at Hinata Sou, is less hateful towards men, and has to examine her true feelings when Keitaro moves in.
1. prologue

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina. Are you really surprised?**_

_**a/n:This is my first Fan-Fic, and as such, reviews are very important. Any constructive advice is welcome, and praise wouldn't hurt either. **_

_**a/n2: There were numerous grammatical errors in the original release. Most, if not all, should be fixed. **_

_**a/n3: I have made some improvements to this chapter, and changed some things to fall in line with events in ch. 3. More changes may come later, but I can't be bothered to make them right now.**_

_**ENJOY!**_

Prologue: Welcome To The Jungle

"Granny? It's Keitaro! Are you here?**"**

Silence and the echoes of the young mans call greeted him.

"I guess she's out right now. But wheres the inn staff?" Mused the man. There was no indication that anyone was there, and he hesitated in the doorway.

_This is strange. If the inn were closed, why would the door be unlocked? But then, if it were open there would be people about. Maybe she heard from my parents and found out they kicked me out. She must have closed the inn and wanted to give me time to settle . _With that decided, Urashima Keitaro entered the building, and unknown to him, he had changed the course of his life, for better or worse, forever.

_**(Several Minutes Of Aimless Wandering Later)**_

After wandering Hinata Inn for a short while, he found a door, with a sign above it indicating it was the manager's room. _Grannie's room. I guess I can wait in here until she comes back. This being an inn, I can't just take a random room. _

He knocked and when there was no response, entered the room. Sighing when he found it empty, as expected, he sat down next to a table and stretched.

"I can't believe my parents! Kicking me out and ridiculing my dreams! So what if I failed the entrance exams twice! I can get into Toudai, I'm only 19! I have plenty of time! Damn it!" With that final shout, Keitaro calmed. "Well, my marks are pretty bad, and I have a 48 average. They're probably right, but I'll never forgive myself if I don't try, if not for me, then for her." He smiled as the memory played out.

_Two children sat in a sand box, a boy and a girl, best of friends. _

"_Kei-kun, did you know that when two people who love each other enter Toudai together, they will live happily ever after?" The girl says. She leans forwards and kisses him on the cheek. "When we both grow up, lets both go to Toudai."_

"_I promise that whatever happens, we'll met again at Toudai!" he vowed._

"Even if she forgot about me, I still have to try!" Keitaro renewed his promise. "I swear I'll get into Toudai and meet her again!"

_But I sure as hell wish I remembered her name. _

Calmed by his memory and confident that he'd meet the promise girl soon, Keitaro decided to explore the inn some more. After a short while of walking, he came across a sign. 'Hot Springs'.

"The hot springs!" Keitaro shouted, excited. _I can't believe I forgot about the hot springs. _

He stepped into the marked change room and slipped out of his clothes, and grabbed a towel from a stack by the entrance. Stepping into the spring, Keitaro sighed and relaxed, and the troubles of the past few days seemed to just go away.

Which is fortunate, as the new trouble heading his way will be more than enough for Keitaro.

_**(Outside The Hinata Sou)**_

Aoyama Motoko, after returning home with her dorm mates after going out for lunch, proceeded outside, to meditate and train. The girl, only 15, was a kendo master, skilled in the secret arts of her family. She punished anyone she ever suspected of even considering harming her friends or any innocent, and harboured a deep distrust of men in general. In the 2 years that she lived in Hinata Sou, she had realized that she was being unfair, but the resentment of men is deep rooted and she struggled daily to come to terms with her problems.

Shortly before she moved into the dorm, her older sister, Tsuruko, married, giving up her right to the dojo. Motoko believed that the husband made her sister weak, and hated him for it . Harbouring resentment, Mokoto couldn't bear to live with her sister anymore, and left, eventually winding up at Hinata sou. She was welcomed and accepted into this ragtag 'family' of sorts.

She maintained a rigorous training routine, and kept up in her studies, but always tried to make time to be with her friends. They were the best friends she could have ever hoped for. That, and her strict sense of honour, was the reason she was so protective of her friends; she would never admit it, but since she left her family, they were all she had.

Finding a suitable spot to meditate, she sat and concentrated, centring her mind. She needed to think about some things her sister said two weeks ago, involving her problems with men and the possible repercussions.

"Help! There's a pervert in the hot spring!"Undoubtedly the voice of Narusegwa Naru, resident Toudai hopeful and fellow male-hater. At hearing that a male had assaulted her friend, two years worth of mediation flew right out the window.

Temper instantly the equivalent of one-million suns, Mokoto stood, and blade in hand, stormed off in the direction of the commotion. Rounding a corner, she saw the cause of the situation. A male clad only in a towel was running from a hastily dressed Narusegwa and Mitsune, and a hoard of flying mecha turtles, courtesy of Su, who stayed a little ways back, swarming towards the male in question.

Screaming her rage at this violation of human decency, she swung her blade, but by luck or skill, he avoided the blow and kept running, eventually reaching the laundry deck. Realizing he was trapped, he turned and proceeded to apologize and plead as the girls approached.

"Please, please, please, it was an accident! Don't hurt me, I didn't do anything, don't hurt me!" He screamed apologies and supplication and ultimately started begging.

Closing in, the mecha turtles, embarrassed and freakishly strong Naru, Mitsune with a devilish glint in her eye that promised something, although the something could be anything, and homicidal samurai Mokoto prepared to utterly annihilate the perverted male.

"Whats the commotion? Keitaro, is that you?" The girls turned, shocked, to see...

"Aunt Haruka!_" _The male, apparently 'Keitaro'_,_flung himself at Haruka, who supposedly was his aunt. Looking for the potential safety off his aunt, they were all surprised to see her slap him across the face.

"I've told you time and time again to drop the aunt thing." Haruka warned her nephew. "What happened?"

"There was a misunder..." Keitaro began, trying to insure the towel was secure after the slap.

"He attacked me in the springs!" Naru screeched at Haruka.

The other girls, afraid of Naru harming Haruka to get to her nephew, stepped back, except for Mokoto, so she could intervene in the event of trouble.

"What did he do?" Haruka asked, taking a drag on her cigarette and glancing at her towel clad nephew at her feet recovering from the blow.

"He was hiding in the springs to peep at me," Naru was, understandably, full of rage at this.

"After he saw you, what did he do?" Haruka pressed

"What do you mean? He-I, he peeped and," She trailed off.

Haruka sighed slightly. "What I want to know, Naru, is how he attacked you? My nephew isn't the sort to attack people, let alone women. If I had to guess, he 'peeped' by acident."

Naru was lost for several seconds, then Mitsune stepped in. "Uh, Haruka, even if he's a good sort like ya say, he did sneak into a all girls dorm and go into the bath area. That ain't right," _Unless he pays first, _she mentally added, along with a mental smirk.

"A-all girl Dorm? But this is an inn...right?"Keitaro stammered at his aunt.

Haruka face-palmed and said, "Right, we never did tell you or your parents that we change to a dorm. Didn't seem important. I'd have warned you if you called ahead," She looked at him. "Why didn't you?"

"Ha Ha Ha, very funny. You expect me to believe that he didn't know it was a female dorm?" Naru looked Haruka in the eye.

"Shut it", She said to Naru, then looked back at her nephew, waiting.

"My parents told me to give up on Toudai. I refused. They kicked me out. That's why I didn't call ahead: I didn't have money to stay anywhere else, hell, to even call. I'm flat broke," Keitaro told her. "I've got nowhere to go."

As soon as he said he was broke, Mitsune realized she couldn't profit from his plight, and lost interest, walking away. Su, in a rare moment of sanity, decided Haruka wouldn't let her test the new mecha defence bots on the weird guy, and with a flick of the control stick, she called them off to look for something else to destroy to test the nuclear powered rail cannons mounted on the bots. Shinobu came out of her hiding place by the stairs when she saw Mitsune and Suu leave. Motoko realized that this was all a misunderstanding, and recalled a conversation she had had with her sister not two weeks ago. Realizing her folly, she sheathed her blade and decided to wait for the argument to sort itself out so she could apologize for being judgemental. As Haruka watched the others stand down, Naru let into Keitaro, still angry.

"Someone like you would never get into Toudai. Your nothing but a pervert and a baka and..."

"Shut it, Naru! Calm the hell down!" Hakura glared at the girl until she took a step back.

"Wheres Granny Hina?" Keitaro prayed she would be here.

"About a year ago she left to tour the world," Haruka told Keitaro, knowing why he wanted to see her. "She left me as dorm manager."

Seeing all was not lost, Keitaro played the one card he had,"Au-Hakura, can I stay here for a few days until I can get a job and place to stay?" Keitaro pleaded with his aunt.

"No, I refuse, no men, let alone a baka pervert like you..." Naru tried to start into him again.

"I, for one, believe that we should permit him a few days to get back on his feet. Besides, after what we tried to do, acting entirely on your word because you were embarrassed, without asking his side in this, we owe him recompense for our actions. Providing he can behave himself, we should give him some time to rest," It took all her willpower, but Motoko managed to say it evenly and calmly, even if her grip tightened on her blade. _Sister is right, I need to think with my mind, not with my passion. I must atone for-no, I cannot think of it now, I must appear strong._

Naru and Haruka both looked at Motoko, shocked. Naru because she spoke against her, who believed herself the victim, and Haruka because Motoko spoke in defence of a man, and not just any man, but one who was mistaken for a pervert. Haruka smiled, realizing the girl had really grown and matured.

"You take his side over a friends?" Naru, clearly hurt, looked at Motoko in disbelief.

"I am on the side of honour and justice. Honour states he deserves recompense, and justice need not be done, as the incident was a accident. I do not fault you for your accusations, but I disapprove of your continued mistreatment of this male," _Even if I would have joined you not two weeks ago. _Fortunately, no one could see her minds internal debate.

Keitaro was dumbfounded. _I thought she tried to kill me, but now...maybe I misunderstood her._

Haruka smiled," Well, Kei, I don't have a problem with you staying a few days,"And a pointed look at Naru kept her from voicing hers.

"Haruka!" Everyone turned. "Fax for you!"

Mitsune walked over to Haruka, and deposited a piece of paper in her hands. She glanced over at Keitaro surprised he was still here, then sent a concerned look over at Naru, shrugged and left. Haruka looked up after a few seconds of reading the fax, more than a little surprised. She looked at Keitaro, and hoped she wasn't signing her nephews death warrant.

"Good news. You don't have to worry about looking for work or lodgings. You are the new manager of Hinata Sou."

_**Well, what did you think? Let me know with a review.**_

_**No major surprises here, but next chapters will be original events.**_

_**I'll update when I can.**_

_**Later. **_

-_**The Hendog**_


	2. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Love Hina. Shocking, isn't it?**_

_**a/n: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I do intend to update at least once a month, but real life might get in the way. All I can say is that I'll do my best to keep the story moving.**_

_**Enjoy! **_

_**a/n 2: I made a few changes, primarily in setting up scene breaks and making slight changes to Motoko's character. More changes may come later, but I don't have thew time right now. **_

Chapter 1: The Way Things Are

Keitaro, sighing loudly, flopped down onto his futon, exhausted by the days work. It had been five days since he became dorm manager, and he could barely move. The girls have been throwing jobs at him, left and right. This was bad enough, but when he suggested that the girls pitch in around the dorm two days ago, they had announced that if he couldn't do the work, he would have to leave. Later, when he spoke to his aunt, she told him that they had always worked around the dorms before, and he should only have to do important jobs, like emergency repair. She then admitted that the girls weren't pleased by his sudden status as manager after the hot springs incident. Her advice was to give them some time to adjust, then make them start working again.

Keitaro had simply smiled at that. On the off chance they do get used to him being around, he would never be willing to risk breaking whatever peace that may bring to try throwing his weight around. He'd never survive it if they decided that he was being unfair and had to go.

Trying to relax, he opened his eyes and glanced around his room. It was a regular dorm room, the same type that the girls inhabited. They wouldn't let him take granny Hina's room, although that was alright, since he didn't want it. His few possessions included a suitcase full of clothes, some study material, as well as table, bookshelf, and the futon he was laying on.

Eventually his gaze stopped on the hole in the ceiling, and he cringed inwardly. _Of all the rooms it could have led to, it had to be hers..._

(_**Five Days Earlier**_)

"What?" Three pairs of voices call out, completely and totally shocked.

"According to this fax, Urashima Keitaro is now the manager of Hinata Sou," Haruka said, and hoped that this was a joke, but knew also that the family head would not mess around about such a thing. "I will see to filling out the necessary paperwork, and you will then have to go about introducing yourself to your tenants."

Haruka tried to drag her stunned nephew, still wearing only the towel around his waist, away from the girls, to show him to his new room, so he could get dressed and she could retrieve the required paperwork and having him sign it. Regardless of her thoughts on the issue, she had to obey the family head, even if she suspected that she had gone mad.

"Th-this is a joke, right?" Naru sputtered. She was to shocked to be angry, but that would soon change.

"No, Naru, it's not a joke. Look for yourself," She held the fax out to Naru, but the girl didn't move to take it, so Haruka handed it instead to Motoko, who quickly scanned the paper and before giving it back.

To say Mokoto was torn would be an understatement. On one hand, she was perfectly willing to let him stay a while, albeit a short while under close supervision, but she also felt he couldn't live here. It would be highly inappropriate to say the least, and her distrust of men, although lessened after her time here, was still strong enough to voice its opinion.

_The male is untrustworthy, and dangerous. Who's to say he didn't arrange all of this? This cannot happen. _After a quick glance at Keitaro, she could tell he didn't set this up or expect it._ This was all just a coincidence. He is just as surprised as us. We should give him a chance, and he doesn't seem like the dangerous type. Just... unfortunate. Remember what sister said, do not jump to conclusions._

"Aunt Haruka," He slipped and said it, but she ignored it. "What do you mean, um, this can't..."

"Who sent the fax?" Naru cut in, not shouting yet, but undoubtedly getting close to that point again.

"Granny Hina," Haruka replied, then back to her nephew. "What were you saying?"

"Why am I supposed to be the manager of a all girls dorm. This doesn't seem... I don't know, um, normal," Keitaro managed to make his point.

"Yeah, that can't be allowed! Its a 'male prohibited' dorm, the points lost if this baka's living here!" Naru regained some of here composure, and was picking up steam. "Whether or not Granny Hina want's him here is besides the point! There is no way it's allowed!"

"Listen, Naru, I understand your feelings here, but the fact is, like it or not, he is the new manager of Hinata sou. Kei, I know you don't like it any more than her, but its the will of the family head, and there's no point in arguing it. At least make an attempt. And if you stay, you'll be close to Toudai. The other option is leave and go home," Haruka nailed in the last point.

"But you said I could stay until I can get settled in elsewhere!" Keitaro panicked at the idea of having to return home barely a day after being kicked out.

She handed him the fax, and after a minute, he looked up, shocked.

"If I refuse, I have to leave immediately? Aun-Haruka, did you know this would happen? Is that why you made the offer?" Keitaro was hurt that his family would play him like that.

"No, it's not like that, Kei. I promise, I didn't know this would happen. Granny was always able to predict situations, and I guess she hit spot on. Keitaro, I'm sorry, but you've got to make your choice now," Haruka looked sorry, but the choice remained.

The question hung in the air, and the moment lasted longer than it had any right to. Naru tried to take advantage of the silence to put in her two cents. Again.

"I..." Was all she got out.

"Aunt Haruka,"SLAP, "I'll take the job!" With that, Keitaro sealed his fate.

The following seconds were heavy, and far more tense than Keitaro hoped it would be.

Urashima Haruka was caught off guard by how forceful her nephew reacted, and realized that Hina might not be as insane as originally thought. _If this pulls him out of his shell, and helps him with his problems with women, than this might be a good thing._

Aoyama Mokoto was having a similar mental battle as earlier, her harsh, resentful side damning the world for the situation at hand._ This is a unimaginable, terrible situation, and cannot be permitted to come to pass. Drive the male off now, before it is to late! _Her more reasonable side retorted. _He is merely following the orders of the head off his family, and doing what he can to achieve his goal of attending Toudai. If he were to do something, why did he not attempt to force himself on Narusegwa? If he did, she would have said. I see now what sister wanted me to know. Maybe with him here, I can come to terms with things._

Narusegwa Naru was livid. She was so enraged by how brazen this man was that she couldn't form any words. Her thoughts were a horrifying jumble of hate and violence, spinning rapidly out of control, threatening to burst into flames at the drop of a hat, and are best not examined.

Keitaro felt the tension rising with each passing second, like the feeling of dread that the condemned must feel as they gradually approach the rope or chair, and prayed for something to break the mood.

Suddenly, nature itself responded, and Keitaro was forcibly reminded of his state of dress. The wind howled by, the wind-chimes almost laughing in their cheerful way at Keitaro in his predicament, furiously trying to clutch the towel to his waist.

Haruka, seeing his distress, was pulled from her thoughts. She quickly waved Keitaro inside, and led him down the stairs, to show him to his room, and allow him to dress.

_**(Managers Room, A Short time Later)**_

After Keitaro was dressed and settled in the room he was shown to, Keitaro sighed, and tried to figure out how to introduce himself to the girls after their earlier misunderstanding. Until Haruka had the paperwork ready, he could hid out in his room, and he intended to use every second he could to prepare himself. Based on the only two tenants of the dorm he knew of, he had mixed feelings. That Naru chick scared him, mostly because of her obvious hatred of him, but he was even more wary of the one with the other one. She was attacking one moment, and willing to allow him to live there the next. She was unpredictable, and that was more dangerous than Naru. Plus, she had a sword, and had no qualms about

using it.

Bored, he glanced around the room, wanting to occupy his mind on something else, his gaze fell on the roof. More specifically on the hole. _This place is falling apart_, Keitaro thought to himself as he got up. _Might as well inspect the damage if I'm the manager._ Pushing the table directly under the hole, he climbed up and pushed the bit of loose plywood out of the way. If Keitaro had examined the floor plan given to him by Haruka, what happened next could have been avoided. As any cat would be willing to tell you, curiosity is a dangerous friend to have.

Unknown to Keitaro, at this very moment Naru was changing out her wet clothing. When she caught Keitaro in the springs, she had no time to dry before hastily throwing on her clothes in the effort to catch him. At the very moment that Keitaro was trying to see where the hole in his roof led, Naru was pulling on her underwear. It is worth mentioning that Keitaro's room was on the second floor, and Naru's on the third.

THUD! Surprised, Naru turned to see liddo-kun, a precious childhood toy, tipped over, and worse, the head of HIM peeking out of the hole in the floor that liddo-kun had been covering. They stared at each other for a moment before realizing that her chest was completely bare. Naru, temporarily to embarrassed to move against her new mortal enemy, drew her arms over her breasts in hopes that he was to shocked to realize they were momentarily uncovered. Keitaro, however, saw more than enough to induce a catastrophic nosebleed with enough force to cause him to launch backwards, threw the hole and into the wall behind him. Momentarily stunned by the force of impact, he couldn't move.

Naru, moment of shock over, tossed on a t-shirt and dropped down into Keitaro's room, landing gracefully. She cracked her knuckles and approached the semiconscious man laying on the floor, murderous intent obvious. Keitaro prayed that Haruka would arrive in time to save him, but felt himself lifted of the ground by his collar before the thought even formed. Naru stared into his clouded eyes before stating coldly, "This isn't even half of what you deserve, pervert."

Naru, confident that her point was made, let loose with a attack that would come to be known as a 'Naru Punch'. She struck him with enough force to send him through his window, and several miles into the nearby forest. With a disgusted sigh, she realized that some of the blood that had stained his shirt had gotten on her hand when she pulled him to his feet. Turning to go to the washroom, she saw Haruka standing the doorway. Seeing the blood, ruined window and look on Narus face, she had a pretty good idea of what happened. _Damn Kei's bad luck._

"Don't say it, I don't have time right now," Haruka told Naru before the younger woman even opened her mouth. Turning back the way she had come, Haruka went to attempt to locate her nephew.

_**(Approximately Two-thousand Feet In The Air) **_

The view was actually rather nice. Unfortunately, Keitaro was travelling way to fast to really take in the sights. And, admittedly, he had other, more pressing concerns: where he was going to land, how he would find his way back, and Naru's parting words. _Shit, I'm in serious trouble. What should I do._ The obvious idea of giving Naru the boot never crossed his mind; it had been her home, and he was the intruder. He couldn't punish her, or her housemates, no matter what they did to him. Besides, he could take whatever they could throw at him, with the possible exception of that one girls sword._ I don't know their names or anything about them, and 'she' is probably turning them all against me at this moment._

He was so distracted by his thoughts that he almost failed to notice that he was nearing the ground, and he prayed for a clear spot to land in. Of course, he saw the perfect spot, but passed just over it and slammed into a tree, head first. Even his 'immortality' was insufficient to prevent him from passing out on impact.

_**(Back At Hinata Sou)**_

Motoko, indecisive about the new manager, and since she was interrupted earlier, was going to meditate and make up her mind on what to do. Just as earlier, she was sitting outside, and calming her mind, when there was a resounding crash. Opening her eyes, irritated, she saw what looked like the new manager airborne, and based on the trajectory, there was really no question as to what happened.

Climbing to her feet, the kendoist started walking in the direction that the hapless Urashima had been travelling moments before. _I had best find him before he gets lost, or he will have to spend the night on the woods. Of course, if he did something to deserve this, he will wish I never found him. _

_**(At The Crash Site)**_

About three quarters of an hour had passed when Keitaro awoke dazed, confused and in pain. Forcing his eyes open, he took in his surroundings, and realized that there were several problems: firstly, where was he? Second, where are his glasses? Third, how... _nope, I can cross that one off. Her. _The first was pressing, and the second important, but fortunately his eyesight wasn't terrible, and after a moment, believed he had located them, although he was in a fair bit of pain, and as if yet, unwilling to move to retrieve them. Or for any other reason, really.

After checking for any gashes or severe bruising and finding none, he forced himself to sit, pressing his back against the tree he assaulted not so long ago. Fortunately, the tree held no grudge, and he sat semi-not-quite-comfortably for a short while in peace. When he felt he was well enough to move, he stood, again with the aid of the tree, and went to see if his earlier discovery was indeed his glasses. Finding his eye-wear intact aside from being bent a little, he realized that he was still no closer to solving problem number one.

"Urashima," Startled beyond words, Keitaro flung around, nearly falling in the process, and stared at the one who had addressed him. It was sword girl.

"Who-where-when... you...how did you find me?" Regaining some of his composure.

"I saw your rather obvious mode of travelling, and followed the direction you went. I assumed that you would be unable to alter your course, and that you would stay where you landed for a short while at the least," She looked him over. "It would seem that you are no worse for the wear, and for that you should be very thankful. Somehow, you avoided any injury."

"Well, thank you for looking for me. I'm sorry for any trouble I caused," Keitaro smiled a bit, trying to look as grateful as he felt.

"No, Urashima, I apologize for my earlier behaviour and for wishing you harm. I was in the wrong, and could have severely injured you, and there was no justification," She got on her knee's and bowed, touching her head to the ground. "Please forgive me for my trespasses."

"I-well...that is to say...I forgive you, please...please get up," Keitaro was perplexed, and nervously waved at her to get up, which she proceeded to do.

She dusted off her training garb, and turned to the business at hand. "Why did Narusegwa send you on your impromptu trip?"

Unsure of what exactly to say, he carefully tried to arrange his words so not to restore the pervert status he had recently both gained and lost. "When I arrived in my room, I noticed a hole in the ceiling, and decided to examine to determine the extent of the damages. Her room is above mine. She was changing at the time," Keitaro prayed his explanation was satisfactory.

"Did you know?" The girl asked, narrowing her eyes.

"No, I didn't know it was her room, or that she was changing," Keitaro hastily told her. The look in her eyes was darker than her hair.

"Are you lying to me, Urashima?" She coldly queried.

"No, nonono, I'm telling the truth! Please believe me," Keitaro was panicking, realizing that if she did something, something final, there were good odds that no one would ever know. It was obvious that she was aware of this as well. He dropped to his knees, holding her gaze. "I promise I'm not lying," He clasped his hands together, and waited.

"You had better learn to be more careful around Narusegwa. Your aunt and myself won't be able to prevent this from happening if we aren't around," With that, she turned. "Urashima, stop cowering. I will not harm you. Now come, I wish to make it back before dark."

"O-okay, sorry," He apologized, hoping that he hadn't somehow offended the girl. He then realized something. "Um, if you don't mind my asking, what's your name?"

"Aoyama Motoko," She stated without turning, and without waiting for a response, she started walking.

Keitaro quickly caught up and slowed his pace to walk beside her. "Alright, Motoko-san, my name is Urashima Keitaro, although you may have known this already," He added, jokingly.

"I did indeed know know this already, Urashima."

"You can call me Keitaro, you know. I won't mind," Keitaro hoped to break the obvious tension.

"I would prefer not to do so, if that is acceptable," Motoko quickened her pace, her mind rebelling against having small-talk with a male. In truth, however, a small part of her enjoyed the company, something that would no doubt be impossible two weeks earlier.

Sensing her discomfort, Keitaro slowed so he would be about two steps behind her, and waited for her to decide if she wanted to talk to him. They continued in silence for a time, when they heard a voice calling out

"Keitaro, if you can hear this, follow the sound of my voice!"

Without a doubt, it was Haruka. _I guess she didn't know Motoko came to find me._

"Aunt Haruka, I'm here with Motoko-san! I'm fine!"

_Thank god, I guess he's okay._ Haruka smiled.

After a moment, Mokoto followed closely by Keitaro came into her sight. Still wearing her smile, she approached her nephew, and without warning slapped him.

"How many times do I have to say it? Drop the aunt thing!" Dropping her mock anger, she embraced her nephew. "Thank god you safe. And thank you, Motoko. I'd of never found him on my own."

"Think nothing of it. If all is well here, I would like to return so I can get at least some training done today," She looked at Haruka.

"Yes, we're fine. We'll call you later when Kei makes his introduction."

"I will be there," she promised, and turned, leaving very quickly.

"Well, Kei, lets head back. You've got to sign the form, or it's not official," Haruka turned business-like.

"Speaking of that, where is it now?"

"I left it in your room. When I saw the mess I didn't have time to put it anywhere else."

"Well, lets go and deal with the signing, then," Keitaro was still nervous, but accepted his choice. "How long 'till were back?"

"At this pace, half hour likely. At Motoko's speed, about two and a half minutes. Which do you prefer?" Haruka teased.

"This will do, we have time," Keitaro sighed. "What have I gotten myself into this time?" The question was rhetorical, but Haruka answered anyways.

"A whole mess of trouble, and speaking of trouble, what happened with Naru?"

"Did you know about the hole in my ceiling? It leads to her room. Trouble is, I wasn't aware of that little fact. You can probably draw your own conclusions from this information yourself."

"Oh, so that's why. Listen,Keitaro, you have to be careful around Naru. She's dangerous. She won't ask for explanations; she'll just assume the worst and act accordingly. It's a miracle that you came out of this unscathed, and you can't always count on luck to save you. Tread carefully around Naru," She looked carefully at Keitaro, until he nodded his understanding.

"I figured out that she's trouble from earlier, but thanks for the warning, even if it's a tad late. Now, I have to ask. Are all my new tenants like her?" Keitaro looked nervous at the prospect of dealing with a house full of Naru's.

"Well, Naru and Motoko are the only ones who might get violent, but judging by the fact that your alive, and that she hasn't made any dramatic changes to your anatomy, Motoko is probably safe. The others, well, they won't beat on you, but they will give you trouble. Some more that others."

Keitaro didn't like how vague she was being, but figured he would know the extent of the trouble soon enough. He wasn't looking forward to it. Not looking forward to it at all.

_**(Hinata Sou, Interior)**_

Narusegwa Naru was washing her hands, satisfied that the pervert was gone. On the off chance he did find his way back here, there was no way he would be willing to stay. After his intrusion and well deserved punishment, she had expected Haruka to chew her out. When she didn't, Naru felt sure that even 'his' aunt believed her now. After washing the blood off of her hands, she went up the stairs and down the hall, shortly arriving at her door. Upon entering her room, she saw her best friend standing there.

"Well, well, Naru, looks like something happened. Was there a second pervert hiding in your room, or did the floor just tick you off?" Kitsune looked at her friend. "Your not very subtle when your mad, Naru."

"Same pervert as before. Had the gall to spy on me while I was changing," She smiled. "He won't be a problem anymore."

"You chased him off? Awww, he was kinda cute, too. Ah,well, you do burn through guys pretty fast," Kitsune played her one of her favourite games, a game she called 'freak out Naru'.

"You can have him if you really want, Kitsune. He's all yours," Naru refused to be baited, she was in a what was approaching a good mood, and didn't want that to be undone. "Check the woods, I distinctly remember him flying in that direction."

"Nahhh, man no money mean no sake Kitsune. There's plenty of rich guys out there, don't want to get tied down. And speaking of money..." The real reason she wanted to talk to her friend was obvious.

"No more loans until you pay back what you already owe me," Naru was used to these situations.

"But I got a good tip on the horses, I can win big and pay back everything I owe!" The conversation progressed as usual.

"What about your last few big tips, huh? As I recall, you've only won anything twice, and they were pretty pathetic amounts which you immediately wasted on cheap sake and more bets. No more loans. Try and sell a story. Do some honest work."

"Hey, being a freelance writer isn't easy, you know? It's so hard to get anyone to buy my work."

"Maybe if you weren't trying to sell the same few features that were old news when you wrote 'em last year, you'd have some success getting someone to look at your work!" Naru was frustrated with her friend. "You have to write new stories, and only on recent or significant events."

"Hey, you can't judge me! My life ain't easy, y'know. I just need a loan, what, you don't trust me? Is that it? Tired of havin' old Kitsune hangin' around? Want me to go? That it?" Kitsune sounded hurt, but Naru had known her long enough to have heard this same thing, time and time again.

"Kit, we've been through this before. Just drop the act, 'kay? You know I can't afford to give you any more loans. You know that. How much do you owe me again, anyways? Mabye I should start charging interest? Sound like a good idea?" At this point, Kitsune usually throws in the towel, but always comes back. Without fail, she will be back.

Staying true to her nature, she left the room, favouring Naru with one last hurt look, before exiting into the hallway. _She really needs to grow up, _Naru thought, not for the first time, and likely nowhere near the last. The irony Gods laughed manically at the, well you know.

Sitting down on the floor, she sighed._ Why does she always do that. Shit, this is always so stressful. _

Looking at he futon, Naru decided to sleep until dinner. _It's not like I can study like this. A quick nap will help my nerves._

_**(Meanwhile...)**_

Returning to the Sou, Keitaro and his aunt proceeded to his room, to sign the paperwork and be done with it. Fortunately, no one was around, allowing Keitaro to have a few more minutes of peace before what he anticipated to be one of the most awkward situations in his life, below only the hot spring and Naru's room incidents. Climbing the stairs, the pair approached his new room, and what awaited inside. Haruka, seeing Keitaro hesitate, took charge, opening the room, and shot him a look that told him to get in there. Hesitantly, he stepped forward, and once past the doorway, Haruka followed him in.

Approaching the piece of paper on the table as one would approach a poisonous snake, Keitaro very slowly settled onto the floor. Handing him a pen, Haruka looked sympathetic. _You can do it Kei. Stop worrying, I'll help you deal with Naru. Sign it._

Keitaro, looking at the form, hesitated for a brief moment, and, steeling himself, put the pen to paper, and signed.

"Well done," Haruka said, proud. "Lets go meet the rest of your tenants."

"Alright," Keitaro looked a little drained, but the near-fearful expression from moments ago was gone.

Refusing Haruka's offer to help him up, Keitaro stood using the table for support. Grabbing the paper that announced him to be the manager of the Sou, he handed it to Haruka for safekeeping and to show the girls when he introduced himself to prove his title. Exiting the room, the pair went down the stairs, and to the TV room. Keitaro sat in a chair. Haruka then shouted;

"Everyone downstairs, now!"

Approximately one ten-thousandth of a second later, a blur launched, seemingly out of nowhere, into the room. The form, humanoid but to fast to really see, flung itself at Haruka, and stopped about a third of an inch in front of her.

"What'cha need, Haruka? Dinner ready?" The figure was a dark skinned foreign looking girl, blond, couldn't be older than twelve, maybe thirteen. Shockingly, Haruka didn't even flinch at the girls very sudden appearance.

"I'll tell you whats going on when everyone else gets here. Sit down," Haruka gestured towards one of the couches.

"Ok-hey, it's the weird towel guy!" With that, she lunged at Keitaro, and sent him tumbling out of the chair. Shaking his head, he felt her sitting on his chest. "What'r you doin', towel guy? Did'ja come to play?"

"Please get off," Keitaro was nervous about what Naru would think to see him in this situation.

"But Haruka told me to sit. I'm just doin' what she said. Right, Haruka?" The girl seemed to truly think she was sitting in an appropriate spot.

"Try the couch."

"'kay," The foreigner sprung off of his chest, and landed on the couch she was directed to.

Winded, Keitaro lay flat out for a moment before picking himself up, righting the fallen chair, and sitting back down.

A new voice called out, from what Keitaro assumed was the kitchen. "What do you need, Haruka-sama? I'm cooking, here."

"Come to the living room, Shinobu-chan. This should only take ten minutes," Haruka informed the girl.

About a minute later, a young girl, younger than the foreigner at least, walked into the room. She wore a apron over her clothes and had short deep blue, almost violet, hair. She immediately saw Keitaro, and froze, remembering him from earlier. She looked at Haruka, who gave her a 'it's okay' look, then looked at the tanned girl on the couch, who was smiling ear-to-ear and and flailing her arms in what was hopefully a wave; the only other possibility was that she was having some sort of seizure.

"Shinobu, sit here, over here!"

Looking sheepishly at Keitaro, she went to sit with her friend.

"Haruka-sama, Um...who is h-he?" She was nervous, but that was to be expected.

"When everyone gets here, I'll tell you."

The next girl to enter the room was older than the other two, likely around his age, maybe a little older. She had fairly short, dirty-blonde hair, and, if Keitaro wasn't mistaken, she was one of his pursuers earlier. As had Shinobu, she spotted Keitaro as she entered.

"Well, well, looks like you survived Naru. That don't happen a lot, sugah. Maybe you would be a bit of a catch, after all," she seemed to be talking to herself at the end, but everyone except the foreigner caught what she said. The girl/woman realized what she said. "whoops, just thinkin' aloud_._" She and Keitaro chuckled nervously.

"Have a seat, Mitsune, we'll begin when the others arrive."

Sprawling out on the nearest couch, She glanced at Keitaro. _Before he leaves, I have to tease him a bit. He looks like an easy target._

The next person to walk in was a Motoko, her long, black hair flowing behind her as she moved.

"Urashima, it is good to see you haven't attracted the ire or Narusegwa again. One foray into the woods is enough for one day. Would you agree?" The kendoist almost smiled, but not quite.

"Yes, I agree wholeheartedly. And thank you again," Keitaro replied, with a small smile.

"Have a seat, Motoko. When Naru arrives, we can begin."

The kendoist went and sat down besides the foreigner and Shinobu, since it was the only place left to sit, as Mitsune had claimed the other couch. Haruka was losing patience with the only person yet to arrive.

"Narusegwa, get down here! Right now!"

About three minutes later, Naru stepped down the stairs. Fortunately, she had the foresight to put on some sweat-pants, as she hadn't bothered to finish changing earlier. Still rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she failed to notice Keitaro sitting in the room. The girl, her long honey coloured hair still a mess from being asleep, approached Haruka. "Listen, if it's about what happened to your pervert nephew, save it. He had it coming," Still completely oblivious to said 'pervert's' presence in the room.

"This is regarding him, but not about your assault on him," Haruka wanted to see how long it would take for Naru to notice Keitaro.

"Then what do you want, I have to study and... YOU!" To her credit, Naru finally noticed Keitaro. To Keitaro's credit, he didn't run away.

"Hello," Keitaro nervously greeted her.

"Haven't learned our lesson yet, have we?" Naru took a step in his direction, but Haruka blocked her advance.

"Naru, calm down. We've got more pressing issues that your temper."

"Fine, but if he does one more perverted things, he's gonna die. Now, what do you want."

"Well, Naru, you and Motoko both know what this is about," Haruka told her, then turned to face everyone. "I'll get straight to the point. Urashima Keitaro is the new manager of Hinata Sou," She pointed at her nephew. "Keitaro, are you going to say a few words?"

He stood. "Well, hi everyone. I hope that we can overlook the incident from earlier, and I'll do my best as the manager here. If you don't mind, can I ask your names?"

"I'm Kaolla Su!" The foreigner announced, much louder than necessary.

"Konno Mitsune, call me Kitsune," The oldest girl informed him.

"Aoyama Motoko, if you recall."

"Kaolla Su!" Su reminded him

"M-ma-maehara S-shinobu," The youngest girl shyly said.

"Narusegwa Naru," Naru was unhappy, but went along with everyone else.

"Does anyone have any questions they want to ask?" Keitaro felt he was obligated to ask, but doubted he could answer many questions with his nerves as they were.

"Why are you the manager? You hardly seem, uh, qualified, if you don't mind me sayin', sugah," Kitsune asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Granny Hina Made me manager. I'm not sure how she knew I was here, but she does have a frightening ability to predict events."

"Oh, oh, pick me, pick me!" Su waved her arm around in the air. Keitaro nodded to her. "What's a manager? Do ya get food for bein' one? Can I be Manager next? Please?"

"Umm, well, the manager has to do a lot of work, like repair and balancing the budget. I get food and a place to stay, but it's really hard work and you're to young to be one," Keitaro struggled to answer this one, as he wasn't expecting it.

"What's budget? Does it taste good? Can we have some for dinner?" After Su said this, Keitaro decided he never wanted to answer any of her questions ever again

"Anyone else?" Keitaro scanned the room. "No? Then if you need me, I'm going to my room to unpack."

"Alright, then. I'll be at the tea house if you need me," Haruka went to the front door. "Call me if there's any trouble," Then she opened the door and left. Everyone except for Naru and Su knew she was saying that to Keitaro; Naru figured she meant that if the pervert did anything, to call her so she could get rid of him, whilst Su was to busy trying to remember if she had ever eaten budget before to even realize Haruka had said anything.

"Well then, I guess..."

"Wait a sec, mister dorm manager. Your responsibilities include maintenance and cleaning, yeah? Well, you should really start by sweeping the the upstairs hallways. Get a jump on things, don'tcha think? Prove you can be a decent manager," Kitsune told him, mainly because sweeping was her job to do that day, and she had put it off in hopes that no one would notice. _Might as well get some work out of him before Naru drives him to quit._

"Er, well, that's not exactly..."

"Great, I knew you'd do it. Thanks, sugah," With that, Kitsune left, going to her room to double-check to see if there was any sake she had missed earlier.

_Crap, _Keitaro thought. _Have to put of unpacking, but maybe I can get some studying in later._

Naru saw an opportunity. "Oh, and while were mentioning jobs around the dorm..."

_**(Several Busy Hours Later)**_

The past few hours were a blur, finishing one task, only to have someone completely undo it and force him to redo it, or throw another task at him.It didn't take long for Keitaro to figure out what was going on, but he had to prove he was competent. Still, it did suck to clean a row of windows, only to have Su, resident mad scientist, shoot a bazooka full of bananas at them. When dinner finally came around, he was exhausted and starving. However, upon reaching the table, Narusegwa presented him with some instant ramen and sent him on his way. Returning to his room to eat, Keitaro saw that his window was still destroyed.

_I have to fix that soon, I guess tomorrow, as it's way to late tonight to get supplies. If they gave me some time today, I could have finished repairing it by now._

Sitting at his table, Keitaro quickly consumed his meal, plagued by the incredible scents coming from downstairs. _I suppose that I should have expected this. Of course they want nothing to do with me. Hell, look how I first met them. God, I doubt I'll last a week if they keep this up. Well, might as well get __a bit of studying done before they decide to give me more work to do._

Ruffling through his suitcase, he found one of his Toudai study guides and got to work. He had struggled through a few questions, undoubtedly getting them wrong, when he heard a curt knock on his door.

"Urashima, are you in there?" The voice sounded like Motoko's.

"Yeah, come in," Looking up from his work, he saw her enter, and she was carrying a plate of rice and veggies.

"Urashima, I noticed that you were chased from the table earlier, and since you have been working these past hours, I felt you deserved something better than instant ramen," She offered the plate.

"Thank you, Motoko-san. I wasn't expecting any kindness from any of you, so... well, this means a lot to me," He took the plate and picked up the chopsticks, preparing to dig in.

"You are quite welcome. And not everyone is against you, so to speak. Narusegwa doesn't like you because of earlier, and refuses to think that you may be innocent, and Kitsune just wants free labour out of you. Su treats everyone like that, it's just how she is; she thinks it's all just a game. Shinobu-chan is nervous because your new, and she's been listening to Narusegwa rant of your supposed perversion all the time you were working. Narusegwa is the only one really against you, and only becuase she does not know you. If you give her time, she will learn to accept you, provided you can avoid any more accidents," Motoko informed him.

"Oh, well, thanks. It's good to know not everyone is out to get me," Keitaro was relieved.

"I will let you eat in peace," She turned to leave. Being alone with a male was a new experience, and she had no intention of prolonging it, lest her weakness in this situation be discovered.

"You can stay if you like, it won't bother me. I could use the company. Only if you want though, if you don't want to, I understand."

"Well, I do not know how pleasant my company will be, but if you wish it then I will stay," she sat on the other side of the table.

The pair sat in silence as Keitaro ate. After about a minute, Kei, desperate to dispel the tension, asked:

"So how long have you been living here?"

"Two years," She simply said.

With that, the awkward silence reigned loomed again. Motoko decided to take charge of the conversation.

"If what I heard earlier is correct, you are trying for Toudai, correct?"

"Yes, but this is my third attempt, so I'm not sure if I'll get in this year. I mean, I'm gonna try my best, but I'm not great in most of the subjects."

"Not to appear rude by asking, but if you struggle so much, why are you attempting Toudai when there are other schools you could try for?" She was rather curious, but nervous that he may be insulted by the question.

"To put it simply, a promise made fifteen years ago," Keitaro expression was dreamlike. "I promised that whatever happened, we would meet again at Toudai. I intend to keep my promise."

Motoko was shocked by how serious he was being. _Fifteen year old promise, and he still is trying to fulfil it? This male is...different than most, even I can tell that._

Keitaro remembered where he was and whom he was talking to, and blushed, looking at Motoko. "Sorry, you probably think I'm pretty strange now, huh?"

"Not at all. Actually, I respect your determination, for what it's worth. Keep trying, and your perseverance will pay off," She smiled, just a little, but smiled none the less.

Finished his meal, Keitaro stood up, smiling himself. "Thanks for the food and the company, Motoko-san. This helped a lot."

Standing up herself, Motoko replied. "It was no trouble at all. If Narusegwa is acting the same tomorrow, I will save you some again, if you wish."

"If you could, that would be great. Thank you Motoko-san," Walking to the door, he let her go first, then exited himself to bring his plate down to the kitchen. Still smiling, he thought to himself, _Maybe life here won't be so bad._

_**(Present time)**_

Pulled out of his thoughts by a knock on the door, Keitaro stood, stretched, then approached the door to open it.

"Come in, Motok-eh?" Opening the door expecting the kendoist, only to see none other than Narusegwa Naru. A slightly confused Narusegwa Naru.

"Why would you expect Motoko?" Anger replaced confusion. "What were you going to do to her, you pervert?"

"Naru, let me explain," Keitaro pleaded.

"No, I see what's going on here. No explanation needed," She cracked her knuckles. "I don't think I hit you far enough last time for the lesson to sink in. I'll try harder this time."

The irrational girl approached the cowering man, and formed a fist, preparing to start her attack. Suddenly, the sound of steel sliding across wood filled the room, and a katana blade suddenly appeared beside Naru's arm. Naru flinched away, and the blades wielder stepped between the pair.

"On what grounds do you issue this beating? From what I heard, you have no real reason at all," The would-be assailant and victim were shocked.

"What do you mean? He thought that you were coming to his room, so he had to have been planning something. Point that sword away. Please?" Naru couldn't comprehend what was happening.

"That's odd, because since he has arrived here, I have come to his room on numerous occasions and nothing has happened," Her voice was as steady as the hand that held her katana, blade pointed at Naru's head.

"He must be lulling you into a false sense of security so he could jump you when your unprepared."

"And how did you reach that conclusion?"

"Well... he's a pervert. What other possibility could there be?" Keitaro, unwilling to speak up, as that would probably drive Naru over the edge, remained silent. Naru continued. "anyways, why have you been coming to his room?"

"I fail to see how that is your business, but if you must know, I have been bringing him food, as you refuse to allow him to eat with us at meal times."

"Why the hell would you do that?"

"Why, you ask? This should be obvious. You, and everyone else, dump your workloads on him, and refuse to properly feed him. Well, no, that is not entirely true. The others are willing to let him eat with us, and only you keep pushing the issue."

"That's because. He. Is. A. Pervert!" She emphasized the last bit, thinking that it would make the fact clear to Motoko.

"You keep saying this, but have no proof of his so-called perversion. Admit it, you just don't like him because he embarrassed you," This hit home for Naru, and she decided she was done arguing with the stubborn Samurai.

"How blind can you be, Motoko? Now, get that goddamn sword out of my face. I'm leaving."

"I am not the blind one. If you wish to leave, do so. I am not blocking your way; the door is behind you." She kept the blade where it was.

Muttering curses and threats under her breath, the girl turned and left the room. When the door slammed shut, Motoko sheathed her blade, then turned to face Keitaro, who had stood forgotten through most of the fight. _I wish that I could have avoided that, but I doubt anything else could get through to her as efficiently. Still, I must apologize later. She thought she was protecting me. Honour can be a burden at times._

"You were lucky I came along when I did, Urashima. That won't always be the case. You need to learn to fight, or at least to defend yourself properly."

"What are you proposing?" Keitaro didn't want to fight, but being able to avoid or block Naru's attacks sounded like a good plan.

"I am offering to train you, Urashima. Do you accept?"

_**Well, what did you think? Let me know with a review**_

_**I've already have the ending planed out, but have no set amount of chapters in mind. I'll just keep working and see how fast things progress.**_

_**I'll update when I can**_

_**Later**_

_**-The Hendog**_


	3. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: If Akamatsu Ken is reading this, please don't send your unholy legion of lawyers after me! I make no profit from this, it's only the result of a over-imaginative fan of your works with nothing better to do. **_

_**a/n: Sorry I'm late! Now, I'm gonna keep this brief(kind of), since I know you want to get to the story. This chapter is a little shorter than the last one, and most will be about the same length as this one, or possibly even shorter. Sorry if that disappoints you, but it's easier to get chapters done in a timely fashion like this, what with school and work. Review replies are at the bottom of the page. And I've given up on naming my chapters, 'cause I suck at it. Well, without further delay, here's chapter two! Enjoy!**_

_**a/n2: I was glancing through this earlier, and noticed that a few words were cut out when I uploaded. Minor problem, but it irritates me, so I fixed it. Sorry if you got a useless alert for this. If you find some sentences that run together oddly, let me know with a PM and I can correct it. **_

_**(Last Time:"I am offering to train you, Urashima. Do you accept?")**_

Chapter 2

As Keitaro made his way to the laundry deck, uncertainty reigned through his mind. The previous day, he had agreed to undergo training in self defence under the supervision of the resident blade master, Aoyama Motoko. The girl, skilled beyond reason in kendo, was also privy to the combat skills of her family school, the Shinmei-ryu, and as such, was a force to reckon with. The fact that she was willing to train him, when there were undoubtedly hundreds, possibly thousands, who would give anything for the honour, neigh, the privilege, of her expertise, was daunting for the down on his luck man. Of course, in a normal situation, he would have refused, as he wasn't fond of fighting, but given the circumstances, being able to fight seemed necessary to his continued survival. Of course, there was still the fact that in order to be trained by Motoko, he would most likely have to duel her, and the idea of facing someone who had been training in arts that were primarily used in demon slaying for most of her life was a frightening thought. Hence the uncertainty.

He had known about all of her skills and background prior to agreeing to the training, and it had take sheer willpower not to refuse her offer out of fear on the spot. Despite his misgivings, he knew that the training was important, and accepted the opportunity. His word given, there was no way out of it. For better or worse, he was the student of Motoko until such a time that she felt he was strong enough to properly defend himself should the need arise, and based off of the level of her dedication, that could be a very long time.

Reaching the top of the stairs, Keitaro glanced around. It was a cool but bright morning, a slight breeze ruffling his shirt. The sky was a light red, the sun rising in the horizon, and his current vantage point gave him a clear view of the surrounding forest area, as well as the city, still mostly asleep at the early hour. Taking in the exceptional view, he was calmed, if only slightly. _This is a hell of a way to start the day. No wonder Motoko trains up here all the time._Taking his mind off of the surrounding landscape, he looked over and saw his teacher, sitting cross legged, sword laying across her knees, seemingly deep in thought. Keitaro wasn't sure if her should try to get her attention, or let her do whatever she was doing. Since it was about ten minutes before she told him to arrive, he left her and went over to the railing of the roof. Watching the trees gently sway in the gentle breeze, he sighed quietly and tried unsuccessfully to relax. He had been waiting for perhaps a minute when a presence silently settled besides him.

"Yes, I find the view soothing as well, Urashima," Keitaro jumped and turned, surprised by Motoko's rather sudden appearance. The young warrior, for her part, looked over the grounds, and Keitaro's panicked reaction went seemingly unnoticed. At least, he hoped she didn't see it. A minute passed before Keitaro managed to think of something to say.

"So, when are we starting the training?" It seemed a reasonable question

"We can begin now if you wish, but it is still five minutes before the appointed time," She turned and looked at him, waiting for a response.

"Well, might as well start now, wouldn't you think?" He didn't really want to start, but the waiting was terrible, although her was fairly certain the training would probably be worse. "I'm here now, so don't want to waste time."

Nodding at the point, she turned and walked over to a pair of packages laying by the doorway. Retrieving the items, she tossed one to Keitaro, who almost dropped the item that seemed very much like a sword. Opening the parcel, he found that his assumption was partially correct. It was a wooden sword, used in kendo or just to practice. Confused, he glanced up at Motoko who had a identical weapon in her hands. Uncertain, he asked a question.

"Umm, why are we using swords? I assumed that you would teach me some barehanded skills or something. I don't really want to carry a sword around for self-defence. I just thought you would be teaching me blocks and how to avoid attacks."

"Two points. One, I am more skilled with a blade than without, and I want to instil proper instincts and reaction time so you know how to fight, before I teach you the specific skills you need to learn. Two, you also need to be able to fight. Self-defence is fine, but you have to be strong and able to do what you must to protect yourself, even if it means hitting back. I know you do not want to hurt anyone, and that is admirable, but you must be able to fight, and this will make you able to do so."

Keitaro was more or less lost on what she said, but decided to just nod and get on with the training.

"We will begin with some light sparring," Keitaro winced, his worst fear realized. "Are you prepared?" hesitant nod. "Good, then let us begin."

Within seconds, Keitaro was on the ground, clutching his head and crying out in pain. Motoko was unmoved by his plight, shook her head. "That will not do, Urashima. Get up and try again," When he seemed less than likely to do so, she scowled. "In ten seconds, I am resuming the fight, whether you are ready or not," That had the desired result. In two seconds flat, Keitaro was standing and somewhat ready. At the ten second mark, Motoko attacked again, and this time Keitaro dodged rather than blocked. Of course, Keitaro being himself, the biggest klutz in existence, he proceeded to fall onto his back. He was then stabbed in the gut for good measure. When he showed his reluctance to get back up, Motoko repeated her earlier threat, then pondered if two seconds would be a better time, as he had only taken that amount earlier. He stood back up even quicker than before, and it was rinse and repeat for a good forty-five minutes.

Towards the end of the training session, Keitaro was doing as well as could be expected, given his strength and coordination. Which is to say, he was doing terribly. No, that is far to generous. He was doing so badly that a blind and crippled newborn baby could beat him without trying. After one final blow, which Keitaro narrowly avoided and then miraculously stayed on his feet, the bout was finished. Motoko could see she had a long way to go to train her luckless manager.

Lowering her sword, Motoko spoke again. "That will do for sparring. Now, we will do a quick mile long run, and then that should be enough for today," She was letting Keitaro off easy, since it was his first day, but he was certain that the run would be beyond him. Still, he had to go along with it, so he nodded slowly. "Good, lead the way."

Walking to the stairs, Keitaro was fretting his new commitment, and thickheaded though he was, even he could tell things would only get tougher from then on. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, He rounded the corner, and training soon became the furthers thought from his mind.

Kaolla Su, resident inventor and banana fanatic, was ecstatic. Based on some research data about her new manager, she had discovered that he seemed to posses some sort of immortality. While some would want to find the cause of his immunity to harm so the world may benefit, Su wanted something much more practical; a new, indestructible guinea pig for all of her hazardous experiments and weaponry.

She had first noticed his supposed immortality when, on his first day, he had been unscathed by the legendary punch of Naru. After this observation was made, she searched his medical records for any mention of an injury or bodily harm at any point in his life. When this turned up nothing, she set a series of hidden cameras around the Sou to capture any indisputable proof. However, since she had begun monitoring him, nothing of note had happened, as Motoko was nice to him and Naru for the most part avoided him. Su had decided to take drastic measures to find her data, and if her hypothesis was wrong, it could cost her subject his life. Still, Su isn't one to think her plans through, and the risks were ignored.

Earlier, she had watched him go to the roof via the cameras, and had set her ambush just around the corner by the stairs. Now, since he had no other way to go, Keitaro was trapped. It was only a matter of time before he returned. Still, Su was rather restless after having to sit still longer than she was accustomed to, and was about to call off the experiment, when she heard footsteps on the stairs. The fact that there were two distinct sets never registered in her mind.

As Keitaro rounded the corner, he barely had time to register what he saw before a projectile of some sort struck him. Half a second later, the missile exploded, sending a shock wave outward, and tossing him into the wall and Motoko, who was far enough back to avoid the bulk of the blast, backwards onto the floor. Picking herself to her feet and choking on the smoke, she attempted to find the victim of this spontaneous attack, to no avail. After about a minute, the smoke cleared enough to see that Keitaro was no longer in the room. Glancing at the wall, Motoko happened to notice a human sized hole, leading out to the hot springs. Turning around, she saw the cause of this madness. Standing in the middle of the hallway stood some sort of mecha tank, bristling with weaponry. Just behind the mechanical monster was Su, controller in one hand, some sort of PDA in her other hand. She seemed to be watching something on the device, and failed to notice that Motoko was there.

"Su-chan!" The girl looked up, and saw who called her.

"Hey, it's Motokos!" She ran over to her friend. "Hiya, Motokos!"

"Su-chan, what are you doing?"

Su tilted her head and replied. "I'm reviewing the results of my latest experiment."

Frowning, Motoko asked. "What experiment?"

Su looked excited. "I tested Kei-Keis invincibility."

"By shooting him with a missile?"

"Yep! Isn't that a good plan? Su is such a genius."

"Su-chan, did you ask him before you preformed the test?" Su shook her head. "What if he is not invincible?"

"Then he would die!" Su proudly announced.

"Su-chan..."

Su saw what Motoko was getting at. "Oh, no worries. The test succeeded! He's invincible! So no needs to worry."

Motoko was disturbed by the complete disregard Su had for the severity of her actions. "Su-chan, why would you think he is invincible? What drove you to do this?"

"I think he's invincible 'cause he is invincible, and I want him to test all my new inventions for me."

Motoko sighed, and looked pointedly at Su. "You mean to say that..."

She was cut off by a yell from the hot springs.

"You Pervert!"

"!"

"We will finish this discussion later," She told Su, then went to see what had happened. Although she had a very good idea.

Descending to the ground floor, Motoko found a irate Narusegwa stepping out of the changing room. She saw the kendoist and scowled.

"Well, Motoko, your friend is up to his perverted antics again. Waiting in the hot springs to spy on us. What do you say to that? Gonna defend him again, refuse to acknowledge the truth?" She challenged Motoko.

"What, exactly, did he do?" Motoko humoured her.

"Well, since I didn't bath last night, I decided to have one this morning. I sat in the springs, and found him hiding behind some of the rocks," Naru was sure that this would be enough to convince Motoko.

"Did he actually do anything?" Motoko was fairly sure that Urashima wouldn't do anything, but she felt she had to ask.

"Well, he would have if I didn't catch him. And anyways, peeping is bad enough."

"Urashima is innocent in this situation," Waving off Narusegwa's response, she continued. "Su attacked him with a mecha for an experiment, and he fell into the spring area. He was not doing anything."

"Oh, really. If it was a accident, why didn't he leave the springs as soon as he fell in, huh?"

"He fell from the third floor onto the rocks in the hot springs. Would you be moving after that?"

Naru narrowed her eyes. "You know, Motoko, I can't believe how foolish you're being. You're enabling this pervert, and he's going to get bolder and bolder, and when he finally does attack one of us, it'll be on your head. And if it's Shinobu or Su who get attacked..." She trailed of, leaving the threat open ended.

Motoko, tired of talking to the unreasonable girl, left the building. She needed to find her unfortunate manager again, and waiting around would not help. Naru watched Motoko leave, and snorted, turned, and left for her room.

Entering her third floor sanctuary, Naru promptly sat down, tired despite how early it was. Dealing with the pervert and stubborn samurai had taken a lot out of her. Despite how sure she was that she was doing the right thing, to protect everyone, some of what Motoko said stuck with her. Still, she was not one to question herself, and never one to apologize.

She had been sitting for a minute when a knock on the door drew her from her thoughts. "Who's there?"

"It's Kitsune, open up," The reply came.

"Its unlocked," Naru couldn't be bothered to stand back up.

Kitsune entered the room and plopped down across from he friend. She saw Naru's expression, and smiled a little.

"What?" She was weary of Kitsune when she smiled like that.

"Oh, just was wonderin' what the commotion was earlier, but I c'n probably hazard a guess."

With a huff, Naru answered the not quite asked question. "The pervert, who else?"

"Ah, 'course. Should 'ah guessed. Oh, wait, I did," She pulled some sake from nowhere and took a drink. "You really don' like 'im, do ya?"

Naru scoffed. "Of course not. He's a pervert," She narrowed her eyes. "Why, do you like him or something?"

Kitsune tilted her head. "why do ya ask?"

"Well, you asked first."

She shrugged. "Fair 'nuf. Don't really like 'im, don't hate 'im. Haven't had much of a chance to talk with 'im, so can't really comment."

"You don't need to talk to him to know him. He's just some baka pervert. That's all you need to know."

"Yeah, well Motoko's been sayin' that the incidents were just accidents. Anyways, it's not like ya bothered to get his side of the story, jus' jumped to conclusions," She drank some more of the sake.

Naru frowned. "Now you're taking his side over mine?" She was hurt by her closest friends betrayal.

"Now, how do ya figure that? I just said he might not be all bad."

The frown turned to a scowl. "You're just as bad as Motoko. Why does no one else see that he's a danger to us?"

Kitsune smiled. "When he actually does somethin' to prove ya right, I'll agree with ya. Otherwise, your jus' bein' unreasonable."

Naru was furious. "I'm being unreasonable? Is that what you think? Fine, when her tries to force himself on you, don't come crawling to me for help. Same goes for your best pal, Motoko. You make your bed, you lay in it."

Kitsune shakes her head, unfazed. "Ya got to take it easy, Naru. Your jus' bein' childish."

Naru's glare could cut a diamond. "Is this all you had to say? If so, kindly leave."

She stood up, the now empty bottle in hand. "I'll get to the point. If you're wrong about 'im, and keep mistreatin' 'im, what do ya think Haruka or Hina will do? Hell, what do ya think he'll do about it? You'll be lucky just to be evicted. If they press charges, well, the Urashima's are pretty influential, from my understandin'. My point is, don't jump to conclusions about the guy too early, or ya could get in a boatload of trouble. At least try to get along with 'im for a bit before makin' assumptions. If yer right, wail on 'im, and if not, you'll save yourself some trouble," She turned and walked to the door.

Naru stood. "Wait a second," Kitsune stopped and turned back. "He's already had three big incidents, plus he's 'tripped' a few times, too. Bastard can't even think of a decent excuse to grope us."

Kitsune frowned. "Are you absolutely sure they ain't accidents?"

Naru just shook her head. " Not one-hundred percent sure, but still, that all just seems to much in such a short time to be accidents. Say what you will, but someones got to protect Shinobu and Su, and Motoko trusts him, so it has to be me. If he can behave for a while, I'll talk to him, but if he screws up, again, no more chances."

Kitsune shrugged. "Do what ya want, I said my piece," She walked out the door, and left, probably going downstairs to get ready for breakfast. And find some more sake, most likely.

Naru sighed, and collapsed on her futon. She hated to admit it, but Kitsune had a point. She was risking some trouble, and lacked proof that she was right. She decided to act a little nicer to Keitaro, and wait until he let his guard down enough to attempt something bad enough that she could convince granny Hina that he was unsuitable to live there. And if she was wrong about him, and he was a good person, then everything would be fine.

_**(Meanwhile...)**_

Keitaro was in pain, quite a bit in fact, but miraculously managed to avoid any injury, despite hitting the ground from five-thousand feet. Lucky, he had managed to avoid hitting any trees this time, and remained conscious after the impact. Unfortunately, he was hopelessly lost, and had spent the last half hour wandering aimlessly, stumbling through the endless sea of trees, hoping to find a clearing or something to help him get his bearings. He was fairly sure that he was heading the right way, but had no way to be certain. And, Keitaro being Keitaro, it was far more likely that he was travelling exactly the opposite direction of the dorm.

After making absolutely no progress, Keitaro decided to rest for a while, and make a plan to get back home. However, the exhaustion of his morning activities, namely his training and hike, not to mention his flight, caught up to him, and in a matter of seconds, he was asleep.

_**(Meanwhile...)**_

After searching for close to half an hour, Motoko had turned up nothing. The main problem was that she didn't know what direction Keitaro had taken, so she had no real way to look for him. As much as she didn't want to, she had only one person to turn to for help. One who was liable to make things worse, but she had no other choice.

"Su-chan, I need a favour." _God help us all._

_**(Some Time Later...)**_

When Keitaro awoke, several hours had passed. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he stretched and picked himself up. After looking at his surroundings for a moment, he remembered where he was, and realized he was no closer to finding his way back then he was before. He looked at the tree he had just used as a pillow, and thought, _If I can climb it, I could see for miles! _Obvious flaws in that plan, however. Keitaro was out of shape, still in a fair bit of pain(invincibility isn't all it's cracked up to be), and has never climbed a tree in his life. Running his hand through his messy brown hair, brushing a few broken leaves out of it, he sighed at the hopelessness of the situation. _Well, where do I go from here, Hell, I can't remember the direction I came from to get here, with my luck I'll wind up where I landed in the first place. _He smiled a little despite it all.

Suddenly, a chill ran through him. Jumping sideways, he narrowly avoided a beam of some sort as it flew by. It was fortunate he moved, because it nearly destroyed a tree that was directly behind where he had been standing. Cue sweat-drop. Turning to face his would be assailant, he found himself face-to-raycannon with what appeared to be one of Su's mecha turtles, albeit a highly modified mecha turtle. For one thing, it had some sort of radar on it's 'head', pointed directly at him, and the weaponry was way more advanced than that of the others he had seen. The weapon was larger than the machine itself; how it was levitating under such immense weight was a mystery. And as to how it was levitating in the first place was beyond reasonable explanation. It didn't even seem to have engines.

Keitaro hesitated for half a second, too scared to move. When the cannon started to glow a sickly green, he was pulled from his paralysis and bolted, and not a second to soon. Another tree was felled, but Keitaro didn't see and didn't care, just wanted to put as much distance between himself and the mechanical monster.

The sprint that followed was madness. No matter how hard he ran, the mecha stuck to him, all the while firing the weapon. Each shot missed, but only barely_. _The shock-waves from the attacks nearly took him of his feet, and he was on the verge of collapsing from the combination of explosions and his natural clumsiness. Still, through it all, he ran, never slowing, as the forest scenery flew by, colours blurring, pleasant green with fiery red/orange. After a while, he noticed that a lot of the machines attacks seemed to be forcing him to move to his left, and he was sure that it would lead him to some sort of trap. Still, he couldn't cut to the right, because the attacks were near constant at this point, and being hit by one would no doubt be lethal, immortality be damned.

Gradually, the trees started to thin out, and after about five minutes of the grotesque marathon, he could see Hinata Sou. _I found it, oh thank god. _Still, the mecha kept on attacking, and he realized that it wouldn't let up, regardless of where he was. Still, he could only run forward, because stopping would spell certain death.

Without warning, the mecha moved from trying to attack him directly, to planting a shot right behind him. The blast launched him off of his feet and he spiralled through the air, bouncing hard onto the ground. Tumbling to a stop on his back, he watched in horror as the machine prepared for the final shot. He tried to get back up, but his exhausted limbs gave out, and left him sprawled out on the ground, defenceless. _I'm gonna die! Why is this happening? _He shook, fear racking his body.

"Stone Splitting Sword!" Some sort of shock wave struck the mecha, destroying it, but not before its final shot was launched. However, it fired at the same moment as it was hit, and the shot went wide because of it. Keitaro was saved. Better still, the shot missed the dorm, but it was close. Keitaro then looked at his saviour. It was Motoko. She stood, sword unsheathed, in a battle ready pose. Seconds passed as she scanned the area for more threats. Satisfied that there was no more immediate danger in the area, she sheathed her sword, and turned to Keitaro. She was about to speak, when...

"Kei-Kei! You're alive! Hurray!" Dropping out of thin air, Su landed beside the prone Keitaro. "Su saved the day!" At this proclamation, she began to jump around in what was hopefully a dance of some kind; the only other possibility was that she was having some sort of seizure. Ether way, it was horrifying in an unexplainable way.

"Su-chan..." Motoko quietly started, but Su cut her off.

"Heys, Motokos, why'd ya wreck my mecha-turtle mk. 9?" She stopped her impromptu dance(?) and did her best to seriously scowl at Motoko, failing miserably to intimidate the warrior.

"Su-chan..." Slightly louder than before.

"It took me forever to get the Super Mega Deluxe Cannon Of Ultimate Destruction Of All Existence In The Universe (patent pending) just right, 'though it was only running at at 0.007% of it's ideal power level. Still, I could compensate for that by..." She trailed off, no longer paying any attention to her surroundings.

"Su-chan..." Keitaro started to sweat, wishing he could stand.

"...Of course, securing enough plutonium for that would be difficult, so..." Su was scribbling ideas in a notebook she pulled out of nowhere, muttering to herself all the while.

"Su-chan..." Keitaro was slowly starting to move away, sensing danger.

"...But using anti-matter could provide a level of energy beyond all calculations, provided I could get a constant source and keep it from contacting any actual matter, but that could also be..."

"Su-chan..." Keitaro picked up the pace.

"...Then again, stealing every power plant on earth could prove to be difficult, and transporting them all to Hinata Sou would be nearly impossible, so..."

"Su-chan..." Keitaro was in tears, crawling faster than his body could handle, but too terrified of the aura of blood lust that was rapidly growing behind him to even consider slowing.

"...If I could somehow take power from the core of the Sun itself..."

"Su-chan!" The shout jolted Su out of her mutterings.

"Yes, Motokos? Do you have an idea for me?" She looked hopeful, failing to recognize the disapproving expression on her friends face.

"Why did you send that monstrosity after Urashima? It nearly killed him!"

Su was confused. "But Motokos, you wanted me to send a machine to find him and bring him back, and Su did! I figured if I could test my new weapon in the process, it would be win-wins."

"You nearly killed a man, and you say it was 'win-win'?" she was seething at the young inventors apparent contempt for human life.

"But Motokos, he's invincible. Su told you this already, so stop worrying about it. Su is a genius, remember?"

"Why are you even building such a device in the first place?" To avoid a fruitless argument with Su about the supposed invincibility of the manager, she switched to an easier point to fight against.

Su got excited again. "Why, Motokos, the Super Mega Deluxe Cannon Of Ultimate Destruction Of All Existence In The Universe (patent pending), or the SMDCOUDOAEITU for short (that's short?), is goings to be used by the empire of Molmol in it's glorious takeover of the world! All hail Molmol!" She pulled a large Molmolian flag out of her pocket and started to wave it about.

Motoko was concerned for her friends sanity. "You realize that if you use this weapon at the power level you intend, you will destroy the entire world, yes?" She was ignoring the whole Molmol world takeover thing, concentrating on the more immediate issue.

Su pondered for several seconds before nodding. "Su supposes that she will have to restrict the power levels to around, oh, four percent. That should be enough to destroy a large city," She nodded to herself, and scribbled something more in her notebook. "And even better, Su won't have to invent an inexhaustible source of energy to powers it now! Thanks, Motokos!"

"Please do not tell me you can make more of these weapons," Motoko was disturbed by the possibility that Su had mass-produced the weapon.

"Nope, don't know how. I have to study the first one before building more," Motoko glanced over at the still smoking wreck. Su followed her gaze and gasped. "Motokos, what happened to my SMDCOUDOAEITU?"

Motoko was not expecting this question. "Su-chan, I destroyed it when it attempted to kill Urashima," At the mention of Urashima, she gasped, having forgotten him. Quickly locating him, she ran over and knelt beside him. "Urashima, are you well?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just kind of shook up, but not injured or anything," He scratched nervously at the back of his head. "Can you, uh, help me stand? I mean, if it isn't to much to ask?" After she helped him up, and he regained his balance, they turned their attention back to Su, who was examining the remains for anything salvageable. Suffice to say, there was nothing of any use beyond scrape metal. Su looked up from the ruins of her newest creation.

"Why'd you trash it? Now Su can't build another!" Su dug through the rubble, furiously searching for anything that could be used to reconstruct the machine.

"You are absolutely positive that you can not recreate this weapon?" Su nodded sadly. "There are no schematics or blueprints for this device?" Su nodded again. "Excellent."

After a moment of silence, Keitaro had to ask. "Su-chan, if there aren't any plans or anything, how did you build this in the first place?"

Su looked up at Keitaro. "Oh, well Su was trying to make a banana peeling machine and it ended up like this."

_How did she turn a banana peeling machine into this? _Keitaro and Motoko thought simultaneously. Motoko knew better than to ask, but as for Keitaro, curiosity got the better of him.

"Su-chan, how does a banana peeler end up a SMD...OU...W? How does it turn into that?"

Su stood back up, smiling. "Well, Kei-Kei, first..."

_**(Three Hours Of Techno Blather Later...)**_

"...And that is how a harmless banana peeler becomes the most powerful weapon on earth," She waited expectantly for a moment before noticing Keitaro's glazed expression, and Motoko's complete absence. "Hey, Kei-Kei! Wake up!"

Keitaro jumped, then flushed slightly. "Sorry, um, so...cool?" When Su only frowned, he grew nervous. "Su-chan, if you know all that stuff, how can you not recreate the... thing. Not that I'm complaining, or anything."

"I dunno," She smiled oddly and tilted her head, shrugging her shoulders.

Keitaro decided to leave, fearing her apparent insanity may be contagious. "Uh, well Su-chan, I have some...work... to do, so...see you later?" He smiled nervously, and even a three year old would see through it. Fortunately, Su isn't known for being observant.

"'Kay, see'ya Kei-Kei!" She sprinted off at speeds that should have been impossible.

With a sigh, Keitaro set off for the inn at more human speeds. He wished that he could have escaped like Motoko had, but his stealth capabilities were less than average, let alone enough to escape Su on a rant.

Upon entering the dorm, he went to the kitchen, to find something to eat, as he had missed breakfast and needed to eat something before doing his chores. Stepping into the dinning room, he met one of his tenants, sitting at the table, empty bottle of sake sitting before her. She was staring intently at the bottle, seemingly under the impression that if she concentrated enough, it would become full again. She was meeting little success. Keitaro cleared his throat, getting her attention.

"Konno Mitsune, correct?" It was kind of pathetic that he had been living her for nearly a week and had trouble with her name, but he had been fairly busy since arriving, and avoided most of his tenants for safety reasons. The girl flashed a smile.

"I said to call me Kitsune before, didn't I?" She looked intently at the man, smile still present. She seemed to be analyzing him, looking for any weakness to exploit and indication of his character.

_Fox, indeed. _"Yeah, I suppose you did. Sorry that I forgot," Keitaro has a tendency to apologize for no reason whatsoever. While can be kind of funny for a while, it gets irritating pretty fast.

From this one exchange of words, Kitsune gets all the information about her managers character she needs. _Easy prey. _"Well, mistah manager, hows abou' ya buy me some sake and I'll call it even?"

Keitaro flinched. "Well, Kitsune, I don't have much by way of money, so I don't think I can afford sake right now. Sorry," He flashed a nervous smile, embarrassed about his financial situation.

The fox could see his weakness. "Well, if sakes out, then maybe ya could clear me for rent this month?"

Keitaro shook his head. "Sorry, Kitsune, but I can't do that. The dorm is barely breaking even as it is."

_Time to change tactics. _Kitsune lowered her tone, and leaned over slightly, affording the manager with a clear look down her shirt. "Well, I could always pay my rent in... other ways," She winked seductively.

Keitaro caught the not so subtle meaning pretty quickly, and that in combination with the little display she was granting him required him to stifle a nosebleed. Looking away, he stuttered. "Konno-san, that wouldn't be... no, no we can't...I just, that is..."

Kitsune cut him off, faking being hurt. "Oh, so ya say I'm too ugly for ya, is that it?" In her head, however, she was rejoicing. _This is to easy! Life is looking up for little ol' Kitsune! _

Keitaro panicked at the idea that he may have insulted the girl. "No, no no no, that's not what I meant. Your very pretty, I jus..."

Kitsune cut him off again, smiling a sly smile. "Oh, whats this, coming on to ya tenants, are ya? That's hardly appropriate, now is it. Now, hows about I get free rent this month, and in exchange, I won't tell Naru about this little incident? Sound good?" She held out her hand, to shake on it.

Keitaro knows when he's beat. "I guess we can get by for one month..." After wiping his filthy hand on his pants, he reached out to shake Kitsune's hand, but the second they made contact, she sprung her second trap. Grabbing his hand with both of hers, she pulled the appendage to her breasts. He couldn't prevent this nosebleed. After several seconds, she let go of his hand.

"I'd say that would be worth about, oh, ten bottles of sake," She smirked, pleased at how well the scheme came together.

Resigning to his fate, Keitaro pulled out his wallet, and took out all but one bill. He handed the rest to Kitsune. "Here's a few thousand yen, all I can afford right now. That should cover most of it."

The fox smiled happily. "I'll get the rest from ya later," She then stood and walked to the door. Turning before leaving, she said. "Pleasure doin' business with ya," With that, she left.

Keitaro ran his hands through his hair, and plopped down on the foxes now vacant chair. Life just got harder. A lot harder. "Why does this happen to me?"

Unknown to the fox and her victim, someone had witnessed the entire exchange from the kitchen.

_**(Some Time Later...)**_

Upon returning to his room, he found a small sealed letter on his table. Opening the note, he winced at what he saw. The note stated:

_Urashima_

_Since our training was cut short today, we will begin earlier tomorrow to make up for lost time. Be on the laundry deck by three-thirty, or face the consequences. _

_-Motoko_

Keitaro chuckled nervously. Life had just gotten much harder indeed.

_**(Later, On The News...)**_

"...And as of yet, authorities are still uncertain of the origin of the mysterious beam that shot down Japan Air flight number 341. Current speculation include an alien attack, terrorist plot, and an army test gone wrong, but as of yet, spokespeople for both the government and the airline have refused to comment on the situation, but assure us that they are working swiftly to discover the source of this unexpected attack. Out of the 217 people on board the flight, including 13 staff, there are 79 critically injured, 92 moderately injured, and surprisingly, no fatalities. We will endeavour to keep you up to date on this..."

_**(To Be Continued...)**_

_**Well, that's chapter 2. I may do a revised version later, but for now, I hope this suffices. Now, to reply to some reviews (in no particular order):**_

_**marduk-report: I didn't intend to bash Naru, but I felt since Motoko was being friendly to Kei, Naru would be even more judgemental and violent, since she would see herself as the only one who could protect the other girls. I do intend to develop everyone, but I want to get the main story moving first. **_

_**Chibi Fenrir: Thanks for the advice, I'll likely re-post revised copy's of my first two chapters, and maybe this one, but likely not for quite a while. And I do know exactly where I want to take the story, and I feel fairly confident that I can finish it.**_

_**Nysk: She and Naru had to be a little OOC for the story to work how I wanted it. And Kitsune is, too. but only a little.**_

_**Fanf1cFan: My main weakness is that I keep thinking of this like a manga, and work mainly on story and dialogue. I hope that I can improve in setting and character development, and as I've said, I will likely put up revised copies some time in the future.**_

_**Zero-nightmare: Naru is too stubborn to give up that easily. As for where things will go from here, that's a secret! ^_^**_

_**bosk: Yeah, I'm kind of tired of the fics that have Motoko excessively violent. I'll admit she's pretty bad in the cannon story, but a lot of fictions take it way over the top. **_

_**Nightmare2046: Here it is!**_

_**ebur436525(anonymous): I intend to do everything in my power to see this through to the end.**_

_**To everyone who reviewed, thank you kind sirs and madams. If I didn't respond to your review, and you were hoping I would, I apologize. If you have a question or comment that absolutely needs a reply, PM me. But I will reply to some reviews after each chapter. And while we're on the topic of reviews, feel free to leave me one if you've got the time. **_

_**I am well aware that the 'mecha-turtle' is actually mecha-tama, but Tama and Mitsumi haven't been introduced yet, so I had to name it 'mecha-turtle mk. 9' instead. Su will upgrade to the superior Tama variant when/if she is introduced. I haven't really decided yet, as they aren't really important to the story. Review opinions may influence my decision. That said, don't just make a review saying yes or no. I want actual input on my story, and you can voice your thoughts on this at the same time. **_

_**This chapter underwent four major rewrites, so if there is some big, obvious error or inconsistency that I may have overlooked, please let me know. If you tell me, I can fix it.**_

_**Well, that's all for now.**_

_**Later**_

_**-The Hendog**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**Disclaimer: How many time do I have to say it? I do not own the rights to Love Hina, and never will.**_

_**a/n: An update never arrives early, nor does it arrive late. It arrives precisely when it needs to. **_

_**I decided, after some prompting from a helpful reviewer, Cizzymac, to give Motoko an actual reason to be so kind to Keitaro, and some of this will be different from earlier chapters. I edited them to comply with my changes, and made general improvements to my prologue. Sorry if you find that to be a problem. Review replies are at the bottom. Enjoy!**_

_**(Last Time: 'Life had gotten much harder indeed')**_

Chapter 3

As Keitaro stepped out of the overcrowded tram, he smiled to himself. After a week of labouring at the Hinata Sou, he finally decided that he needed to get back to cram school. Even though he had just finished his second training session with Motoko that morning, and was more than a little exhausted from it, it still felt good to be back. Shifting his school bag, and grimacing when it rubbed against a fresh bruise on his arm, he approached the building. Even though he had about half an hour until the warning bell sounded, he wanted to sit down after the hour long tram trip, which he stood for, as there were never enough seats. Plus, getting here early meant that there was time to chat with...

"Haitani, Shirai, how are you guys?" Keitaro called out to the only friends he had at school.

"Hey, Kei-man! Things are good, 'sup with you?" Shirai, short and overweight, glasses on his face, stood and waved to Keitaro. Like Keitaro, he was a ronin.

"Yeah, where've you been, man? Haven't been around here for a while," Haitani, tall and slim, also with glasses, followed suit. He rounded off the ronin trio.

Keitaro hurried over to the pair and let out a laugh. "I've doing great! Got booted from my parents place, but Granny Hina let me stay at her old inn. She even made me the manager. Got a place to stay, time to study, great food, and a decent paycheck," Some key facts may have been left out, but if he told the whole story, like the fact that it was a girls dorm, he'd have to hire security to keep them away.

These guys, while not really perverts, fancied themselves playboys. The fact that every girl they ever hit on either slapped them or sent muscular boyfriends after them, sometimes both, never seemed to be enough to make them realize that they are definitely not anything of the sort. It's probably for the best that they never have any luck. They only really want sex, and maybe someone to mooch cash off of for a while. They would never willingly leave the Sou if they found out about the tenants, and Keitaro wasn't about to let his only real friends get killed by Naru. Hell, these guys were bad enough that Motoko might take action against them. And if Su decided to test a mecha on them, there wouldn't even be recognizable corpses left. Telling them would be tantamount to sentencing them to death, so it was decided to keep silent.

Shirai scoffed. "Yeah, right. How the hell do you expect us to believe that? Not even funny as a joke."

Keitaro pulled some papers out of his bag, photocopies of the ones he signed, mostly for use in an emergency where the original may be damaged or misplaced and some proof of ownership may be needed. Of course, it works just as well as gloating material. Showing them to his sceptical friends, their demeanour's changed. After they had read enough, he stored them away. A few seconds passed.

Haitani let out a low whistle. "Man, how does a lowly two-time ronin like yourself end up as manager of an inn?"

Keitaro scowled at the description of himself, but smiled haughtily after a second. "I guess some people are more deserving than others," His tone indicated just who the some was, and the others were.

Shirai snorted. "You mean some people have more dumb luck than others."

Keitaro shrugged. "Either way, it works for me."

Haitani shook his head in amazement. "Kei, my man, you are one lucky bastard, you know that, right?"

Shirai nodded his agreement. "I don't know how you can, out of the blue, be given an inn to run, but somehow fail twice to get into Toudai. Seriously, you could quit the whole old promise thing, and settle in running this inn."

Keitaro waved off the suggestion. "You know how I am with promises, guys, I'm not giving up."

Haitani looked at Shirai. "Well, regardless of Toudai, you've got your own place now. So you know what that means..."

Shirai and Haitani yelled out in unison. "Party!" Several other early students jumped at the shout, before frowning and going back to whatever they were doing.

"Guys, it's an inn with paying customers. We can't throw any parties," He doubted it would placate his friends, but Keitaro really needed to have a decent reason for them to stay away without telling them the real reason.

"Ah, come on, man! Party! You know you want to," Shirai pushed.

"Yeah, and you run the place, so it doesn't matter about the noise," Haitani smiled huge.

Keitaro pretended to think it over. "Nope, sorry guys," Thinking fast, he added. "I'm on a probationary period for the first few months, and if I get any complaints, I loose the job."

Haitani frowned. "But you said your granny runs it."

Keitaro panicked. "Yeah, but to get the job, I had to fill out some stuff at city office, and any complaints registered there means that they have the power to remove me," He smiled nervously, praying they would believe it.

They thought for a second, then Shirai spoke. "Well, I guess we'll hold off on the party, but you have to show us the place sometime. Maybe...some of the customers rooms?" He got a stupid smile and a minor nosebleed after saying that, leaving little doubt as to which customers rooms he would like to check out. And at what time of night he would prefer to investigate.

Haitani jumped in. "Hey, some of those old inn have those...group bath things, uh, hot springs! That's it. Hot springs. And, umm, would your inn happen to have one? A mixed hot springs, perhaps?" His expression soon matched Shirai's, including the blood running from his nose.

Time to retract the statement about them not being perverts.

Keitaro felt great unease as he watched his friends space out. "Hey, guys?" He nervously asked.

The only response he received was for Shirai to drool slightly. Haitani seemed to have entered a near comatose state.

Keitaro cautiously stepped forward. "Guys?"

Shirais started to laugh softly, under his breath. Haitani now had a snot bubble, in addition to the blood, leaking out of his nose.

_Eww, that's just nasty._ Sweat was beading his forehead as he took another step closer. "Haitani? Shirai?...Guys!" he shouted.

"Gah!" They cried out simultaneously. More people looked over to see what the commotion was, but most looked away at one glance towards Haitani. Haitani, for his part, noticed this, and pulled some tissues (that, undoubtedly, were not usually intended for his nose) out of his pocket and wiped off his face.

Shirai nervously scratched at the back of his head. "Err, sorry about that. I guess a tour of the inn isn't gonna happen now, yeah?"

Haitani smiled weakly, face now clean. "Second chances?" half hopeful, half joking.

Keitaro inwardly thanked his friends for providing a good excuse to not let them near the dorm. Outwardly, he scowled. "Guys, this is a serious job for me. I can't let you guys anywhere near the place if you're going to act like this. I know we're friends, but after what I just saw..." He trailed of intentionally.

They both started stuttering apologies and promises to act better if he would let them see the inn. When Keitaro just shook his head, they resigned themselves to waiting for the time being.

Before they could move on to a different topic, the warning bell sounded and the students rushed to their seats.

_**(Lunch Hour)**_

Once lunch rolled around, the ronin trio hooked back up to eat together and discuss typical guy stuff. In other words, they sat around, insulting each other and occasionally commenting on some of the members of the fairer sex that happened to be nearby. In the rare instances when someone said something of importance, they would seriously discuss it for about two minutes, then either a attractive woman walk by, or someone would say something that could be turned into an insult, and the cycle would start again.

After a while, Haitani noticed a girl, wearing glasses, her hair in a pair of pony tails, wearing a baggy sweater, who seemed to be watching Keitaro. Never one to let a chance to taunt his friend go by, he pointed her out to him.

"Well, well, Keitaro, looks like you've got an admirer. You should go talk to her, I bet you guys have a lot in common. Ah, nerd love," Completely ignoring to the fact that he looks just as geeky as Keitaro does.

"Hey, who are you calling a nerd? I think you need to look in a mirror, Haitani," A brilliant comeback by Keitaro.

"That's not the point, Keitaro. That chick over there, she's been staring at you for a while."

Keitaro looked at her, while she suddenly looked away. "She looks familiar. Do you know who she is?" He turned back to his friends.

"Know who who is?" Asked Shirai, who hadn't been paying attention to the discussion for some time.

Keitaro looked around to point her out, only to find her standing right behind him. He flinched back, while Haitani laughed to himself and Shirai went back to his lunch, which he found far more interesting.

"Urr, hello?" Keitaro managed.

The mystery girls only response was to grab the collar of his shirt and pull him from his chair. Once he was on his feet, she turned and dragged him out of the room. Panic was apparent on his face, and he reached out beseechingly to his friends. Haitani laughed and waved, while Shirai didn't even look up from his food. A few other people watched this with bemused expressions, but most shrugged it off, and the rest shouted insults and cat-calls.

Suddenly, Haitani was worried. "Hey, Shirai, you don't suppose she might've been his girlfriend or anything?"

Shirai looked up, and asked around a mouthful of food. "Who was whose what?"

"No, never mind," The idea that Keitaro could get a girlfriend and keep it a secret was laughable.

Shirai frowned at being distracted from his lunch needlessly. "Then don't say anything, then," He returned to gorging himself. As it was now abandoned, he took the remainder of Keitaro's food, too.

_**(Outside)**_

After dragging him for some time, mystery girl let go of his shirt collar, letting him fall to the ground. Quickly picking himself up, Keitaro backed a few steps away from his would-be kidnapper. The girl, for her part, was content to scowl at him, waiting for him to say something, which he tentatively did.

"Ah, do I know you?" She seemed familiar, but he didn't recall ever speaking to her before.

She seemed genuinely surprised at the question. "You really are a baka, aren't you?"

The voice was familiar. "Narusegwa-san?"

She scoffed and pulled off the glasses, nodding the affirmative. "Why are you here? Are you following me?"

It was Keitaro's turn to be caught off guard. "I've been going to this school for over two years, ever since I started trying out for Toudai."

Naru made a sceptical face. "Really?" She let out a breath, then turned serious. "Just because you have school doesn't mean we're going to let you slack off on your chores at the dorm. And if you even think about doing anything perverted, remember that I'll be watching."

Keitaro bit off a comment that, if he would have said it, would undoubtedly have resulted in another aerial view of the surrounding area, courtesy of Naru Air. Even if he's clueless most of the time, he did have a few underused self-preservation instincts that he occasionally listened to. Right now, they were telling him that arguing with the girl wasn't worth being sent halfway to mainland China. So instead, he nodded meekly to avoid any unpleasantness.

Naru smiled, satisfied. "Good," With that, she turned and walked back to the school.

Once she was far enough away, Keitaro let out the breath he never realized he was holding, and slowly followed after her. Because her back was to him, he never saw the slight look of uncertainty that flashed across her face.

_**(Hinata Tea Shop, Several Hours Later)**_

Urashima Haruka was tending to the her few late afternoon customers when the door swung open and someone walked in. Turning to tell them to take a seat until she could get to them, she saw that it was Keitaro, schoolbag slung over a shoulder and a weary expression on his face. Meeting his gaze, she pointed him to an empty booth at the back, out of the way of actual customers. With a nod, he complied, setting his bag down under his chair.

After sitting for maybe five minutes, Haruka walked over, two steaming cups of coffee in her hands. Setting one mug in front of her nephew, she sat down across from him with her own. They sat in silence, sipping at their drinks. Finally, Haruka spoke.

"So, Keitaro, what's on your mind?" He had come down here twice before, and on both times he was angry or upset about something that had happened at the dorm. The first time was on his third day, when he was upset over being mistreated by most of the tenants. The second time was just yesterday, and he mentioned super-lasers and blackmail, but never went into specific detail about either. So for him to be back meant something happened, or would soon happen.

"I went back to school today," He stated simply before returning to his drink.

"And?" Haruka wasn't normally one to play twenty questions, but Keitaro was to stubborn in his ways.

"One of my tenants just so happens to go there, too."

"But who could...? Ah, Naru,"_ Of course it had to be her. _

"Yes, her. We even have a few classes together, but I never noticed until she spoke to me. Well, threatened me, to be precise."

"Ah," Was all she had to say. _I can guess what she said._

Keitaro adjusted his glasses before continuing. "Anyways, after classes were over, a couple of my friends, after seeing her drag me off at lunch for our conversation, decided to joke around by making a few choice comments towards her."

Haruka smirked. "These friends of yours, they aren't very bright, are they?"

Keitaro chuckled to himself. "Not terribly smart, no, but they're worse when it comes to women. Anyhow, after the smoke cleared and she saw me standing over the remains, she jumped to the conclusion that I sent them after her to make a point of some kind, and acted accordingly."

Haruka just shook her head. "Well, that may make your school life a little harder."

"You think?" Keitaro spat. "God, if it isn't bad enough to be walking on eggshells at home, now I've got my main tormentor hovering over me at school, too."

Haruka was caught off guard by his tone. "Well, Naru can be a little overbearing, but it can't be that bad."

Keitaro eyed her wearily. "Overbearing may be putting it lightly."

Haruka conceded the point. "Listen, she's nervous about you because how you were introduced to them. Give her some time, she'll warm up to you," _Probably, _She mentally added.

Keitaro shot her a look that said he hoped so. "I bet you're right, we did get off on a bad foot. But anyways, in a few weeks it shouldn't matter, thanks to training."

Haruka raised her eyebrows. "You think you'll be that skilled in a few weeks? I don't know any teachers that could teach you that fast," _Especially since it's you we're talking about here._

Keitaro drained the rest of his coffee. "Well, we'll see," His overconfidence was apparent. "Thanks for the drink and the words," He stood, grabbed his bag and walked for the door. Looking over his shoulder, he got off one last comment. "See ya later, aunt Haruk-ack!" He was struck in the back of the head with a flung coffee mug, and tumbled out of the shop. None of the patrons of the shop even looked up at this sudden act of violence.

"Kid never learns," She muttered before checking in on her customers.

_**(Hinata Sou, Narusegwa's Room)**_

While Keitaro was talking to his aunt, Naru was venting on her own preferred counsellor; Kitsune.

"...And then he sends his perverted buddies over to hit on me," Naru was in the middle of her rant, but paused so her friend could comment on how stupid and perverted the manager of the dorm was.

"Well, that's sure somethin', all right," Replied the fox, not wanting to enable her friend, since that would likely end in her doing something stupid, but on the other she couldn't disagree with her since they were best friends. She was certain that the manager was a good guy, since he never made a serious move yesterday when she was teasing him, but defending him would be hypocritical because of said events. So she decided to remain neutral for the duration of the rather one sided conversation .

Naru misses her friends lack of enthusiasm and continues on without missing a beat. "So anyways, after I punish theses guys and see him there, I go and confront him about it. And, guess what, he denies doing anything. Can you believe that?"

"Hmm."

Naru ploughed on. "After he says that, well, of course I can't let the pervert get away with it, right? So I smacked the baka upside the head and left," She concluded. 'Smacked the baka upside the head' meaning 'launched him into low earth orbit'.

"Well done," Kitsune exclaimed with mock enthusiasm.

Naru accepted this at face value. "Yeah, so that was what he did to me today. He probably doesn't even go to school, I bet he was stalking me," It was uncertain as to whether or not she was joking.

"Well, I'm pretty certain he has ta be a student, or the teachers wouldn't let him in the buildin', right? Besides, I doubt he's the sort," Kitsune enjoyed playing the voice of reason every now and again.

Naru nodded, which made it clear that she wasn't serious about the accusation. "Yeah, I know. It's just, it's bad enough that he's here, and now he's at my school, too. I just, I dunno."

"I see what your sayin'," Kitsune said, reassuringly.

Naru's expression was of discomfort. "Even if I'm wrong about him, I don't think he should be here. I just don't trust him. Even if he's a good person, it isn't appropriate for him to live in an all girls dorm, you know? It's not fair that this happens to us."

Kitsune smiled kindly at her friend. "I know you don't like this, but we can't really do anythin' about it. We just have to go with things for now. Give him a chance, because I think he deserves one."

Naru matched the foxes expression. "Yeah, I guess I've been pretty harsh, haven't I?"

Kitsune chuckled slightly at that. "Harsh is ignoring someone. You've launched him through walls."

"Well, I'll think about maybe being a little nicer. I just hope that he acts a little more careful from now on . And maybe me and Motoko can sort things out. I don't want to fight with my friends."

Kitsune nodded enthusiastic. "If ya treat him better, kendo girl will warm back up to ya. And I don't think she's really mad, so I don't think ya need to worry. You know how she is with 'warrior pride', and 'honour', and stuff like that."

Naru looked slightly amused at the description of one of her friends entire way of life. "Well, I've got a lot to think about. Anyways, thanks for the advice, Kit."

"No problem, Naru. Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a horse race on soon, and I got a hot tip, and since cash is low, I need to get my bet placed before it starts. But first, I need to drink me some sake, for good luck," She stands, and makes to leave, silently cursing herself for wasting most of the money she got from the manager the day before. Well, on the upside, rent wouldn't be a problem this month.

Naru shook her head. "Kitsune, at some point you're going to have to grow up. You can't keep living like you do, it's just not safe. You barely ever have any money because of gambling, and when you do, you go out and get wasted at the bars. Sure, the manager might not be a threat, but other guys are. I worry about you, Kitsune," While Kitsune didn't like hearing the same lecture all the time, it looked like she may actually clean up her act regarding Keitaro, even if she still couldn't say his name.

Kitsune smiled her foxy smile. "Don't be worryin' about lil' old me, I know what I'm doin'," With that, she left the room.

Once the fox left the room, Naru was left to think of some way to fix things with the manager.

_**(Hinata Sou, Living Room)**_

"Oh, Hurry up! Come on, come on, oh...Dammit!" Frustrated, Kitsune ripped the betting slip in half and stomped her feet on the floor, letting the world know of her displeasure. Grabbing the nearest sake bottle, she droped back onto the couch, intending to drink away her troubles, as per usual. This time, her troubles being the fact that she just lost all that remained of the money she, ahem, 'acquired' yesterday on what had to be, in her opinion, the slowest nag in existence. Finding the bottle empty, she tossed it blindly away, feeling oddly triumphant when she heard it shatter against the wall, and grabbed another, tearing the cap off and gulping as much of the alcohol as humanly possible. After a few long seconds, she lowered the now half full bottle from her lips and inhaled sharply. After catching her breath, she took a more sparing sip, and let the feeling of satisfied contentment wash over her. Maybe using alcohol to solve all her problems isn't the best idea, but for now, it works.

Realizing her funds were essentially shot, she knew she had only a few choices. One, look for a bit of part-time work, do as much as possible for about a month or two, then quit it. Two, write a few articles, and sell them to whoever would take them. Three, blackmail the manager. Four, drink more sake. Seeing as she was lazy as hell, options one and two were disregarded immediately. Since the manager was out, option three would have to be put off until later. So that left option four, which, admittedly, was her favourite. Besides, after a little while of four, three would be a hell of a lot funnier and way more profitable, since those pesky morals and inhibitions would be out of the way.

Sprawling out on the couch, she flipped the channel on the television from the horses to some dime-a-dozen soap opera. Taking another sip of her drink, she smiled, and relaxed. All that was left was to wait.

_**(Hinata Sou, Motoko's Room)**_

If one was to look into the resident samurais room, they would find her sitting cross-legged on the floor, her sword on her lap, deep in meditation. The reason behind the meditation? Urashima Keitaro.

One the one hand, he was a male living at an all girls dormitory, serving as the caretaker for the other residents. This in itself should be reason enough for expulsion from the premises. Even if he was there because of his grandmothers wishes, he still should have the sense of mind to realize how inappropriate it was for him to even be near the building.

On the other hand, in the time he had been there, he hadn't committed any perverse or immoral acts intentionally. He did the work given to him, and did it well. He went out of his way to avoid most of the tenants. He never spoke or acted against any of them. He did what was required of him, and nothing more. But still...

He was a male, and by definition that should make him a pervert, weak willed, someone who would stop at nothing to sate his evil desires on any innocent maiden he should happen across. The fact that he hadn't done any did not even matter. These tenancies are there, and if left unchecked, they would assert themselves. Even if Urashima was a good person, he would eventually succumb to his evil nature, even if it was unintentional.

That was always the belief about males, anyways. But after nearly two years of meditation on the subject had left a large shadow of doubt on these thoughts. Justice meant all people are innocent until proven guilty, and to say all males were guilty by birth contradicted this in every sense. And if justice were flawed, then honour would be as well. If one dispenses wrongful justice, then they would loose honour. And if there was one thing a noble warrior valued, it was honour. Without honour, they were less than nothing.

Of course, these thoughts were helpful if she was in a mood to think before reacting, but her misconceptions about males caused her to often react without thinking. What really prevented her from lashing out at every accident of the manager was a phone call from her sister a mere two weeks before his arrival. It regarded an incident where one of the students at her school made a mistake that nearly cost someone everything...

_It was a typical morning at the Hinata Sou. The residents, bar Kitsune who was hung-over, were seated around the table, partaking of the excellent breakfast created by their personal cook, Shinobu. Since it was a Sunday, most of the girls were looking forward to a day to relax. Of course, because of her training schedule, Motoko would likely spend most of the day running through her kata's. Since this was the usual routine, no one felt the need to discuss it. Breakfast was coming to a close, and Motoko was about to leave for the laundry deck, when the phone rang._

_Shinobu was about to go answer the phone, but Motoko stopped her. "I will get it, Shinobu-chan."_

_Shinobu nodded her thanks, and went back to finishing her meal._

_Leaving the dining room, she approached the ringing device. Picking it up, she said curtly. "Hinata Sou dormitory. Whom are you calling for?"_

"_Why, I'm calling for you, Motoko-han," The voice was very familiar. A voice she knew well. It was the voice of her..._

"_Sister! Wh-what do you need?" Even if she wasn't near, Motoko grew uneasy all the same._

_Tsuruko chuckled. "Do I need a reason to call my little sister?"_

_'Yes', Motoko thought to herself. "Of course not, sister," She said instead._

"_So, how is life at the dormitory, Motoko-han? Are you keeping up in your training?"_

"_Life at the dorm is well, sister, and of course I train every day," Motoko normally doesn't chat with people, and wanted to get to the point._

"_Good, good. Maybe you should come home some time so I can test you. Anyways, how is your meditation? Have you sorted out those troubles you had when you left?" While Motoko never mentioned her dislike of males to her sister, or anyone in her family for that matter, it wasn't really surprising that she knew. Her behaviour towards Tsuruko's husband was anything but subtle. _

_Motoko hesitated briefly before replying. "I believe I have sorted out most of the...issues. I need some more time, but I think for the most part, my misconceptions are in the past," While what she said wasn't exactly wrong, she was making things sound easier than they were._

_Tsuruko showed no sign of noticing her hesitation. "Very good, Motoko-han, very good. I'm pleased you have gotten over those dreadful misconceptions you had. Because if you hadn't..." She trailed off._

_Motoko was very nervous. "Sister?"_

_It was a moment before she continued. "Something has happened, Motoko-han. Do you remember some of the those 'informal lectures' you delivered to the younger girls at the school before you left?"_

_Motoko flinched. She remembered those little talks well. Shortly after she had her 'revelation' about the evils of males, she decided to warn the students about them. While some students shrugged her warnings off, quite a few agreed, believing that the heir to the Shinmei-ryu would never mislead them on something so important. A few came to the idea that violence would be the best way to deal with it, an idea that Motoko quickly agreed with. In the end, all Motoko could do was give a meek 'Yes' in reply._

_Tsuruko pressed on. "Well, you may be happy to know that most of those you turned had given up on those thoughts quite a while ago," Motoko felt relief wash over her. "Of course, not all did. Some held what you said as an absolute truth," The nervousness returned with a vengeance. "Three days ago, one of them did something. It was after a lesson, and she was walking with a few of her friends to a restaurant, since it was a free afternoon. While she was walking, a young man, about a year younger than her, approached them. He asked her if she wanted to have dinner with him. She reacted very badly to that. She screamed pervert, and used a ki attack to 'punish' him. She only had a bokken, but you know that they can channel ki as well as any sword. Luckily, she had only recently learned it, or it would have been worse. He was struck dead on and launched into a building. His injuries were minor, but but they could have killed him if she used a little more force."_

_Motoko was dumbfounded, and took a while to find her voice. "W-what happened to her?"_

"_She was removed from the school and is no longer allowed to study in another, nor bear any sort of arms ever again. Because his injuries were minor, and she is young, so she was saved from any other punishment."_

_Motoko was at a loss for words._

_After a brief silence, Tsuruko continued. "The funny thing? Him and her, they had been friends for some time before she joined the school. Shortly after, she cut all ties to him. I spoke to him briefly, and he said that he just wanted to talk to her again. Sad, isn't it?"_

_Motoko could only think of one thing to say. "Is this...my fault?"_

_Tsuruko's voice grew gentle. "No, Motoko-han, No one blames you. I knew of your fears, and did nothing to alleviate you of them. I believed that if you overcame them yourself, it would be better for you. I only learned of what you had said to these students recently. But you did it because you believed you were doing the right thing, so I cannot fault you. But remember, Motoko-han; 'the road to hell is paved by good intentions'. Think before you act. No one blames you for this incident, because you had no knowledge of what your words would do. However, the next time something happens, the council may not be as lenient. Think before you act, Motoko-han. If you act out in a similar fashion, you may meet the same fate, if not a worse one. Be careful of your fears, and always act with honour."_

_Motoko swallowed hard. "I will, sister."_

"_I pray that you do. This is no doubt a lot to take in, so I will leave you to your thoughts. Goodbye, Motoko-han."_

"_G-goodbye, sister," With that, the phone went dead. It was some time before she moved from that spot._

After days of meditation, Motoko soon came to the realization that for her to make up for ruining a friendship and someones way of life, she would have to clean up her act regarding males. Oddly enough, she had only just came to this realization, when out of the blue, Urashima arrived. Of course, upon first viewing him, she forgot all about her decision and reacted by instinct. After his situation was revealed, it took much willpower, but she managed to follow the path of honour and wisdom. Without the call from her sister, this would have been impossible.

Because of her sisters words, she managed to maintain enough self control to give Urashima the benefit of a doubt whenever he was placed in a compromising position. She still felt the urge to punish him for any perceived act of perversion, but now had the sense of mind to ask questions and observe the situation before making snap judgement. It was hard, but she had not only kept from unnecessarily lashing out at him, but also managed to keep the others from seeing her uncertainty. She even managed to avoid directly thinking about what she had unwillingly caused most of the time, because whenever she did, she was filled with a painful sense of regret. The only time she ever thought directly about it was when Urashima was in a questionable situation and she felt the urge to react violently. And in meditation, of course.

After a few days without any trouble, she decided to test herself. Offering to train him was said test. There was a perfectly reasonable reason to do make the offer, but secretly, she wanted to see if she had the strength of will to avoid doing anything overboard. So far, things seemed to be going good. And, as much as she was loath to admit it, it was nice to have a training partner so she could vent these pent up emotions on someone.

In fact, things were going so well that there was only one thing that concerned her at this point. Her friendship with Narusegwa. When she had been so concerned with battling her violent urges towards Urashima, she had acted poorly towards her friend in the process. Naru couldn't be blamed for her distrust of having a male live in the dorm. In all likelihood, if her sister never made that call, she would be treating him just as badly, possibly worse. Most of her behaviour towards Naru was unnecessarily rude, and an apology would likely be in order to patch things up. That being said, Naru's behaviour towards Urashima was completely uncalled for, and had to be stopped at some point, preferably soon.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she stood and stretched, re-sheathing her katana. After insuring she looked presentable, she left her room, intending to find the resident female Toudai hopeful.

_**(Hinata Sou, Entryway)**_

As the manager walked through the door to the dorm, he felt better than he had earlier. A good cup of coffee and a quick chat with his aunt always helped. He hoped that Narusegwa had calmed down a little, but either way, he intended to avoid her for the rest of the day, if possible. Silently cursing whoever decided to build the Sou on a hill, he slipped his shoes off and cringed as the smell of sweaty feet filled the air. He stepped into the dorm proper, and made to go to the stairs so he could go to his room. Little did he know, someone else had different plans for him.

"Well, well, look wha' the cat dragged in," came a familiar, yet slightly drunk, voice.

Trying not to look nervous, and failing miserably, Keitaro turned to face the source of the voice. "Hello, Kitsune-san," He said in what he hoped was a nonchalant voice. After taking appraisal of her apparel, he kept his eyes firmly glued away from anything lower than her face. With her wearing a tight t-shirt and shorts that would put short-shorts to shame, he didn't want to risk a nosebleed.

The fox, even if she was a little drunk, could see his nervousness. "Hello yerself, Mr. manager. Everythin' goin' okay?" She asked with mock concern.

Keitaro examined what she said for any hidden meaning, but found nothing. "Fine, why do you ask?" He asked, cautiously.

Kitsune looked serious. "Well, I just happened ta hear that you an' Naru had a little lovers spat."

Keitaro spent the next two minutes sputtering that he and Narusegwa were not lovers, while glowing a shade of red that would make a tomato jealous. Kitsune looked disappointed.

"Aww, ya aren't? That's to bad. But then, maybe I have a chance now?" She smiled her best fox smile.

Keitaro completely lost it. His blush growing by at least three levels, he tried to politely refuse what he thought was a serious offer. "Kitsune-san, I-I'm honoured and all, but I'm not really looking for a relationship right now."

Kitsune raised the pressure. "Aww, and here I thought ya liked mah babies. Don't ya?" She jiggled her barely contained breasts to emphasize her meaning. Needless to say, Keitaro saw the movement, and quickly glanced away, his blush reaching critical levels.

He was now stuck in a hard place. If he said that he didn't like her, ah, 'babies', she would be offended, but if he said that he did like them, Naru would likely overhear and call him a pervert. Since Keitaro is rather slow, he had yet to figure out that Kitsune isn't being serious.

Kitsune watched him try and find a tactful way of refusing her offer, chuckling silently. _This guy can't be a pervert, I mean, look at him. Smokin' hot babe like me makes an offer like that, and he's gonna __refuse. I almost feel bad about doing this to him, but this fox needs a drink. Or two. Or five. Or ten._

When Keitaro only managed to silently open and close his mouth for half a minute, Kitsune decided to up the ante. "You seemed ta like 'em when ya felt me up yesterday," When Keitaro looked away awkwardly, she smirked. "Want ta feel 'em again?" Without waiting for an answer, she glomped him, rubbing him with her ample endowments. Add the fact she never wears a bra around the house, and the shirt was at least two sizes small, and little was left to the besieged managers imagination.

His eyes went wide, and a second later, his nose started bleeding. A panicked expression crossed his face, while he did his what he could to stop the blood flow, and doing his best to not fall from being taken off balance by the fox now solidly lodged on his back. By no means a simple feat, given that Keitaro was Keitaro.

With her victory all but certain, she released her victim and turned him around. "Thinkin' dirty thoughts about me? For shame," She mockingly waggled a finger at him. "I think I need some, whats tha fancy term? R somethin', resti, recom, er... reconstitution? Ah, blast it! Give me money so I don't report this lil' indiscretion ta the others," She held out her hands expectantly.

Keitaro resigned himself to his fate, and started reaching for his wallet. Before he could remove it from the pocket, however, a quiet voice spoke up.

"Umm, manager-san? I need your help with something."

The blackmailer and her target looked over at the direction the voice came from. Standing by the door to the dining room was the youngest resident, Shinobu, the blue-haired chef.

Upon seeing the young girl, Kitsune knew that the extortion would have to wait. However, she was by no means giving up. "Well, we'll jus' have ta finish this discussion later, Mr. Manager. See ya later," And with a seductive wink, she was gone, returning to her room, to scheme and drink, but mostly the latter. She was certain that there was at least one bottle left up there, and she was determined that the sake wouldn't remain in the bottle for long. The three, or maybe it was four, that she had drank earlier would soon have company.

With a relieved sigh, Keitaro took his hand from his pocket and turned to his savings saviour. Smiling kindly, he asked the girl. "What do you need, Shinobu-chan?"

Shinobu nervously asked him, after a brief hesitation. "Y-your a student at T-Toudai, right? Can you help me with my homework?"

Instinctively reaching out to pat her head, but catching himself before she noticed, he answered her. "Well, truth be told, I'm not a Toudai student, but I think I can help with whatever homework problem you may have," _I'm not that stupid. I think I remember most of what I learned in junior high._

"T-thank you, sir," Shinobu said, embarrassed. She wasn't the best in her school, and due to her already meek nature, she often believed herself worse off than she actually was. In truth, she was likely smarter for her age than Keitaro was for his. Although, admittedly, that isn't as impressive as it sounded, seeing as Keitaro was rather dense. He was so dense, in fact, that he never noticed how nervous she was.

Shinobu wasn't used to being around guys. In fact, with sempai's Naru and Motoko always warning of their evils, she had avoided men whenever possible. And when this one showed up, out of the blue, doing what appeared to be something bad, it reinforced her fear. When she learned that he was to be the manager, it was terrifying. The only thing that stopped her from fleeing from him whenever she would see him was the fact that Motoko-sempai seemed to be friends with him. Motoko-sempai always spoke of honour, and justice, and being a good person, so she wouldn't choose to be friends with someone bad, right?

Even so, she never spoke to him beyond basic polite greetings, and sought to avoid being in the same room as him for longer than absolutely necessary. She was glad he ate separately, and spent most of his time doing chores or studying in his room, as it minimized the likelihood of ever having to actually interact with him in a significant way. She fully intended to spend the remainder of either her or his days at the dorm in such a fashion, but she saw something just the day before, something that proved that he was not a bad person.

She had been cleaning the kitchen before supper, when she heard voices in the dinning room. Looking to see who it was, her first impression of what was going on was what she feared. The new manager appeared to be doing something wrong to Mitsune-san. It didn't take long, though, before the true nature of what had occurred was revealed. It was Mitsune-san who was taking advantage of him. At that moment, she felt immeasurably sorry for him. It wasn't fair, and no one would ever be able to help him, or even believe him, if he told anyone about what happened. It was wrong.

Unknown to her, she had just prevented a repeat of the very same thing just then. If she had known, she would likely be to worried to move, and the fox would have gotten away with her scheme. She was just to timid to do something like that. It was just how she was.

Because of this new knowledge, she felt confident enough to ask for help in her schoolwork. She would prefer to work with one of the girls, but they were unable or unsuitable to help her. Naru-sempai had her own studies, Motoko-sempai had her studies and training, Mitsune-san was busy with her own things, and Su, who was more than willing to help, often made simple concepts insanely difficult due to her weird reasoning and most of the times her explanations were unrelated to the question itself. So despite how nervous she was, she built up her courage to ask for his help. And besides, she felt bad at how he had been made an outcast by everyone, and wanted to make him somewhat welcome.

When Shinobu silently stood for a few moments, Keitaro grew concerned. "Er, did you want to some help right now, or do you need anything else?" He wanted to reach out to her, a brother instinct that was rather difficult to curb, but reigned himself in. It wouldn't do to frighten the girl, after all.

Popping back into the here and now, Shinobu quickly responded. "If you aren't busy, I could use some help with math," She timidly asked of him.

"No problem, Shinobu-chan. Do you want to get your books and study at the table here, or somewhere else?"

Shinobu thought for a second. "Can we use the laundry deck? I like to study outside when the weather is nice."

Keitaro nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll meet you up there."

Shinobu hurried to her room to retrieve her books, while Keitaro made his way to the deck.

_**(Hinata Sou, Laundry Deck, Forty-five Minutes Later)**_

"...And that's how you do that type of question," Keitaro concluded. _Ha, I guess I'm not a complete baka after all._

After she finished writing out the answer, Shinobu closed the book. "Thank you for the help, manager-san."

Keitaro stood back up and stretched, before turning back to Shinobu. "Anytime, Shinobu-chan. I'm here to help. Now, I guess I better go do some of my own studying," With one more smile to Shinobu, he turned to go. Before he took two steps, though, Shinobu stopped him.

"Um, manager-san, if you have a minute, I would like to show you something," The girl said, embarrassed for reasons Keitaro couldn't speculate.

Turning around, Keitaro responded. "Sure, Shinobu-chan."

She stood up, but instead of walking to the stairs, she walked over to the side of the deck. Before Keitaro could react, she jumped over to the roof, and stood unsteadily.

"Shinobu-chan, you shouldn't go up there! It isn't safe," He walked over, hoping to keep her from falling.

Shinobu turned around, careful make sure her skirt was placed in a way that he could not look up it, given her new elevation. "Don't worry, manager-san, I go up here all the time, I'm safe."

Keitaro nods, with a uncertain expression on his face. "Well, okay, but be careful," With that said, he jumped after Shinobu, and almost fell due to his innate clumsiness.

Once he was standing, Shinobu skipped to the end of the roof, both careful and carefree. Once she reached the end, she twirled around with a huge smile on her face. With her arms outstretched, she asked. "Isn't it beautiful?"

Indeed it was. If the view from the laundry deck nice, this was incredible. The extra elevation and different location gave a completely unhindered view of the entire city, all the way down to the ocean. The light played of of the buildings and water in a way that was entrancing. It would be a great place to sketch the surrounding area. Keitaro was so distracted that all he could managed in response was a quiet. "It is."

So distracted was he that he almost missed the sudden, strong gust of wind. What he didn't miss was the look on Shinobu's face when she lost her footing, and started to fall from the roof.

Before she could fall out of reach, Keitaro grabbed her hand. She was hanging from his hand, over three stories of empty air.

"Auuuiii!" She screamed, terrified.

Gritting his teeth, Keitaro managed to say. "Don't worry, I got you."

Carefully, Keitaro pulled her back onto the roof. The second she was safe, Shinobu reacted as one would expect; by latching onto Keitaro. Burying her face into his shirt, she started to cry. Laying on his back, with the trembling girl on his chest, he reacted in the only way he knew how; by embracing her tightly, providing the protective presence she desperately needed. They stayed this way for nearly ten minutes. Finally, Shinobu lifted her head.

"T-t-thank you, Sempai," Keitaro noticed the sudden change from manager to sempai, but made no comment about it.

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're safe," He replied, letting up on the hug.

Realizing just what she was doing, Shinobu pulled away from him, rising to her knees. "I'm sorry, Sempai."

Tilting his head, Keitaro asked. "What for, Shinobu-chan? You did nothing wrong."

Stuttering for a few seconds, Shinobu managed to say. "But you could have been in trouble if someone saw us."

Smiling that reassuring smile she so loved, he kindly told her. "You're more important, Shinobu-chan. You were scared, and I couldn't just abandon you," His inner kindness asserted itself.

"Sempai..." Shinobu wasn't used to receiving kindness from people, let alone someone she didn't know.

Clearing his throat, Keitaro stood back up. "I think we should go back inside. I'll make you some tea. Trust me, it will help."

Shinobu nodded weakly, and stood herself. Walking slower than before, she made her way back to the deck. When she hesitated, Keitaro jumped over first and reached out his arms. Carefully, she jumped into his arms. Setting her back down, they made their way back inside.

_**(Hinata Sou, Narusegwa's Room)**_

Motoko and Naru hurried inside, and closed the door. Sitting down at the table, There was only one thing to say.

"I think...I understand now, Motoko."

_**(To be Continued)**_

_**Well, that's chapter three. What did you think? As always, drop me a review if you have the time. I have a hard time proofreading my stories, and may have missed a big mistake or something. If you tell me in a review, I can fix it. And speaking of reviews...**_

_**The Jabberwock Of OZ: I try to stay close to cannon in regards to combat skills and whatnot. In regards to Kitsune, I don't hate her, but I sure as hell don't like her, mostly since she's really hard to write. **_

_**Zero-nightmare: I was worried that the whole sequence with Su and the doomsday weapon would be considered out of place. Glad that you liked it!**_

_**Keikun4283: Well, I think I covered most of your comments in the chapter. By the way, I love your avatar. **_

_**Megato: Well, you know how Su is.**_

_**Infinite Freedom: Thanks for reading!**_

_**Cizzymac: Thanks again.**_

_**Chris(anonymous): I'll do my best!**_

_**So far, no one is saying yes or no for Mitsumi and Tama making an appearance. What I said in my last chapter probably confused you, and I'm sorry about that. I just meant that I didn't want a whole bunch of anonymous reviews about it. **_

_**I'm not sure if I need to make any changes to the previous chapter, or if I should leave it as is. What do you think? I don't think it needs any changes, but I'm not the reader. **_

_**I leave info on all my stories and current progress on my profile. I typically update at least twice a week, normally more. **_

_**Well, see you next time.**_

_**Later**_

_**-The Hendog**_


End file.
